New layout to stop rat run

Work has been taking place at the junction of High Street, Low Street and Station Street in Cheslyn Hay to redesign the road layout and install block paving between the memorial and the nearest house. It is hoped the £90,000 scheme will make it safer for people to get to the memorial and allow them to spend longer there without worrying about the traffic.

It is also hoped it will help slow traffic in the village down and force people using it as a rat run to find an alternative route.

Councillor Mac Harris, a parish and district councillor, said: "I think it looks great there and it's not even finished yet."That area had started to look a mess but this is putting the heart back into the village and making it somewhere to be proud of."

He added:"People are starting to complain about the backing up of traffic in Low Street.

"But what the highways department is trying to do is force people to use another route to stop the village being a rat run and also stop HGVs going through.

"It's not going to be a quick-fix job, it will take time for people to find other routes."

A new flagpole has also been installed close to the war memorial and ornamental railings are set to be put in place after April.

A tree will also be located close by and will be lit from the ground.

Councillor Harris said the highways work was being carried out by Staffordshire County Council regardless of any accompanying landscaping scheme.

But he said Cheslyn Hay Parish Council approached South Staffordshire Council for funding and also provided some money itself so extra work could be provided.

It has included landscaping at Chapel Square, which has been extended outwards to reduce the width of the road, plus ornamental railings, trees and lighting.

By Michelle Pearson