VILLAGERS are being urged to sign a petition calling for safe crossing points at a major junction in Holmes Chapel.

The call comes from Holmes Chapel Partnership in the wake of what it believes are plans to replace the traffic lights at the A50 London Road /A54 Chester-Station Road junction with a roundabout.

The ePetition runs until March 31, and has been signed by 115 people since being launched on Thursday.

You can find the petition link by visitinghcpartnership.org.uk/news_events.html

Partnership chairman Stuart Gammon said Cheshire East Council intended to replace the lights at the junction with a roundabout.

“This work will be carried out to ‘improve traffic flow’ when the new housing site on London Road, south of the village boundary, in the parish of Brereton, is built,” he said.

“It will largely be funded by a contribution of about £550,000 from the developers, who are obliged to pay money to the community to mitigate the effects of development.

“How will pedestrians cross the junction when there are not even any lights to pause the traffic?

“It seems there are currently no detailed plans, and probably will not be any until detailed planning permission for the site is granted, allowing building to commence.

“However evidence is the development is imminent and, if residents want to make their feelings known, now is the moment to try and ensure Cheshire East Council pays due regard to the needs of pedestrians at this junction.

“The parish council has made it clear to Cheshire East highways it has serious concerns about pedestrian safety with the roundabout scheme.

“If, like us, you are concerned about this issue please sign our petition - which we are sending to Cheshire East – by March 31.

“The A54 and A50 are very busy roads, especially on weekday drive times, and when there are problems on the M6, with many HGVs negotiating the junction.

“There is only one safe, pedestrian-controlled, crossing on the north side of the junction; there are no safe crossing points on the other three sides, making it hazardous for pedestrians crossing the road - especially crossing Chester Road, where visibility of traffic travelling north on London Road into Chester Road is very poor.

“In addition there is no proper footpath on the south side of Chester Road.

“The plan to replace the lights with a roundabout will make the situation much worse, as there will be no enforced breaks in traffic flow, meaning pedestrians will have to take a chance crossing the road - hoping drivers will give way.

“It’s essential there is a mechanism to force drivers to stop and give way.”