Call made to tackle muddy road (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Call made to tackle muddy road

CALLS have been made to create a working party to deal with roads in the Water Park to tackle problems with local authority bureaucracy.

Mud on the Spine Road through Cotswold Water Park has long been a problem for motorists.

The problem has been blamed on lorries from local quarry companies, creating road safety issues as well as obscuring road signs. While the newer quarry operations are required to ensure lorries are clean, the older operations have no such regulations.

The problem becomes particularly treacherous in winter when the Spine Road becomes slick with mud. An accident at the junction with Broadway Lane last November was specifically blamed on the muddy conditions. However, confusion over which authority is responsible for the road is causing residents a headache.

The Cotswold Water Park Joint Committee represents parties from all four authorities involved with the road. At its last meeting it was suggested a meeting between the relevant officers from each authority should take place in order to clarify responsibilities and establish a set protocol to deal with problems which cross boundaries.

However one Gloucestershire County Councillor would like to take the Joint Committee's suggestions one step further.

Cllr Shaun Parsons who represents the South Cotswolds explained: "What I want is one person who can be representative of all parties. "There are so many different people responsible for different aspects. If one person had an overall co-ordinating role they would be able to pull all the strings together.

"What we want is acountability to sort out the muddle - at the moment different people say different things."

Currently the road surface and road safety issues are the responsibility of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire county councils, depending on which side of the county line the road lies.

Cotswold District Council claims responsibility for cleaning the roads lies with the county council and although the district council carries out the cleaning, it is only on a contract basis.

However, Gloucestershire County Council Highways Agency says responsibility for road cleansing was transferred from county control to district control in the 1990s under the Environmental Protection Act. But, again, because the road crosses into Wiltshire the responsibility is shared with the twin authority across the boundary. Here street cleaning is the responsibility of North Wiltshire District Council but not road cleaning. Streets being transport links through urban and build-up areas and roads being rural. Road cleaning in Wiltshire is a matter for the Highways Agency at the county council.

This situation is leaving residents who use the road baffled and annoyed, they are unsure who to complain to and in the meantime the roads remain muddy.

Tim Pain, chief executive of Cotswold Water Park Society said: "It's a large issue, it's not within my control and I get more complaints about it than anybody else put together."

Carol Ames, chair of Ashton Keynes Parish Council, said: "There are lots of accidents along there but if no one is injured they are not lodged with police."

"We have complained in the past to all the councils but currently it's still filthy."