One-way system thrown into doubt

Plans for a one-way system to be installed in Cannock town centre are up in the air again after it came to light funding had not yet been found.

Residents and councillors demanding such a system in the Newhall Street and Wolverhampton Road areas of the town reacted angrily to the news as they had expected it to be up and running by this summer. At one stage it was hoped a £90,000 windfall from the nearby development of High Green some years ago could be ploughed into the project.

However, it was revealed that cash had already been spent elsewhere.

Councillor Gordon Alcott, who represents Cannock North, said: "I have been told that it was used in conjunction with preparing the one-way system and implementing part of it at the top of Newhall Street and the top of Wolverhampton Road close to the High Green development."

The plans to create a one-way system in a bid to relieve bottlenecks in Wolverhampton Road, Newhall Street, and surrounding roads have been on the cards for more than 10 years.

General opposition to a previous scheme drawn up several years ago meant it never went ahead but a revised scheme was largely supported and even attracted comments it did not go far enough.

Staffordshire County Council's divisional highways manager Dave Botfield said the project would help the flow of traffic but would not relieve parking problems in the roads close to the town centre.

He said those issues would only be properly addressed when decriminalisation of parking came into force in February next year, transferring the responsibility for enforcement transferring to the local authority.

He said, while he hoped the one-way system would be implemented in the next financial year, he was "still hunting for funding."

Councillor Brian Faulkner, who has battled for two years to revive the project, said he was "very disappointed" at the news.

He said: "We have worked very hard as a small community to move this forward. Wolverhampton Road in particular is absolutely horrendous. We can only hope it comes out of next year's budget."