Anger at £500,000 roadworks in Rugeley
Traders are angry over the £500,000 transformation of a major gateway to their town amid claims the project is 'unnecessary.'
Work started this week on narrowing the main two-lane thoroughfare through Rugeley to a single-lane, as part of a bid to make the town more pedestrian friendly.
The works will eventually allow for car-parking in the central reservation.
Taxi-driver Steven Toy called the scheme 'an unnecessary disruption'. Councillor Mick Grocott also denounced the work, saying there were other more worthy projects in the town.
Horse Fair and Wharf Road from the railway station to Rugeley town centre will be the focus of the works by Staffordshire County Council.
As well as single-lane traffic, it is intended to remove the traffic lights and replace them with roundabouts at the junctions with St Paul's Road and also Armitage Road.
It is also planned to introduce speed humps along the road.
Traders in the town have voiced concerns about the plans. Estate agent Angi Cooney, vice-president of the Rugeley Traders Association, complained they were given only two days' notice of the public consultation meeting and claimed the plans had been 'rushed through.'
Mr Toy added: "The road humps make the prospect of driving along Horse Fair an unpleasant and uncomfortable one. They are not only completely unnecessary given the layout and the presence of three roundabouts in such close proximity but they also detract from the smooth-flowing philosophy behind the scheme."
And Councillor Grocott said: "I'm not opposed to the money being spent on the scheme in Rugeley but I've had a lot of people speak to me about the plans.
"I was down there at 9am and it was bad. I dread to think what it's like when the school run is on. I would rather the county council put parking in front of the shops instead of in the middle of the road.
"I don't think it's the right plan for what they are trying to achieve."
The county council said the aim of the scheme was to support the economic regeneration of the town centre and encourage more people to use the rail station by improving the access.
Work on the roads is expected to go on into the New Year.
