A GROUP of residents are fuming after road works resulted in a traffic island springing up outside their houses.

Cheshire County Council had started works to improve conditions on busy Swanlow Lane by creating a system of pedestrian refuges or traffic islands.

The council claims it has merely responded to the safety concerns of the public but some people with homes on the road are livid at what they see as poor planning by the council.

Ruth Riddell, one of the people affected, is angry that she was not consulted on a decision to build one of the refuges outside her house and says it robs her and her neighbours of the opportunity to park outside their own homes.

She said: "My husband and I got home last Friday - February 7 - and noticed an island had started to appear outside our house.

Surprised

"We are bit surprised about the fact that they have moved the island to a more narrow part of Swanlow Lane.

"They started building it where it was supposed to be but apparently got a complaint from another resident.

"However, they just filled in the hole and moved it along down the road. Now instead of affecting two properties, it's going to affect five.

"County told my husband that it was just a question of fitting them all in somewhere along the road, which surely isn't the right idea."

A county council spokesman said: "The island was moved at first because it was blocking a drive and it was in the wrong place for services.

"When we planned it initially we were given very different information.

"When the engineer took another look at it he saw it was in the wrong place straight away.

"There are three of these refuges in Swanlow Lane and they are there for two reasons - to provide a safety point for pedestrians and the main priority of slowing down traffic."

rfraser@guardiangrp.co.uk