Car boot diversion 'a failure'

Council bosses say they will have to go back to the drawing board after a plan to divert motorists attending car boot sales through Chirk and away from the A5 trunk road failed.

Tens of thousands of people attend the car boot sales at Ley Farm, near Chirk, every Sunday and most bank holidays but the popularity of the event often leads to traffic coming to a halt on the A5.

Following consultations with the police and event organisers, council bosses agreed to run a trial one-way system, aimed at getting traffic off the A5 quickly.

But Chirk borough councillor Ian Roberts said the pilot scheme had failed to resolve the traffic problem.

He said: "It was chaos on Easter Sunday with at least two miles of tailbacks. I went up to have a look for myself and it was clear the diversion plan had failed and we need to look at it again."

Geraint Jones, of Wrexham Council's highways department, said the new set-up would continue for a number of weeks.

He said: "Traffic will be coming via the McDonalds roundabout to the event and then turning left when they leave the site and going towards Chirk. This will help prevent conflict between vehicles arriving at and leaving the site."

But landowner John Pierce said he felt Sunday's revised traffic set-up was a success.

He said: "Judging from reports I have had people were generally happy with how it went on Sunday."