Controversial 'experimental' Telford road closure to end next month, council confirms

A controversial ‘experimental’ road closure in Telford has been rejected by residents and will end next month, a council has confirmed.

The closure of Marlborough Road at the junction of Church Street with only one day's notice in October 2025 split opinions in Hadley, where residents had been concerned for some time about the speed and volume of traffic.

Councillor Richard Overton, Telford & Wrekin Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for safer streets and better housing, said the experimental road closure will be removed by the end of June.

Councillor Overton (Labour, St George's) said: “The experimental closure of Marlborough Road was a trial introduced at the request of the parish council as part of a consultation with residents which ended in April.

“Whilst there was some support for these measures, the large majority of those who responded who were not in favour.

“We will now remove this experimental closure by the end of June and also look to add alternative potential traffic calming and parking restrictions for consideration as part of our future years highways work.”

The closure had tackled the problem of drivers using Marlborough Road as a cut-through towards the Trench Lock interchange, but it created other issues for locals including worries about road safety and lengthy diversions to get around it.

This week Hadley & Leegomery Parish Councillor Stuart Parr (Conservative, Hadley Manor ward) said the closure had not been the solution to the problem.

The road was initially closed in October 2025 with a consultation running to April 13 this year.

Councillor Parr posted: "The overwhelming majority of the feedback they received during the consultation was negative.

"Feedback talked about the displacement of congestion and traffic problems to surrounding roads, increases in near misses and unsafe driving and the financial and environmental impact of longer journeys.

"The report making the recommendation to remove the closure calls out the clear message from residents that Marlborough Road being used as a through route is not the problem, it is the inconsiderate parking and driving and residents feel that that should be the priority."

He added: "The council has acknowledged the problem and got the wrong solution.

"They now need to come up with a workable plan to make the road safe that is acceptable to the whole community."

The experimental closure was implemented by Telford & Wrekin Council but Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council was criticised by those who claimed they had not been consulted or informed about a meeting held in February 2024.

Councillor Eileen Callear (Labour, Trench Lock), the former chairman of the parish council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was pleased that the public had taken the opportunity to have their say.

The issue has divided local opinions and been the centre of controversy at the parish council.

The road's closure by Telford & Wrekin Council had followed consultations held online and at a meeting which some residents said they knew nothing about.

Councillor Callear had posted about wanting to try to find a solution to traffic and parking issues on February 14, 2024.

An online poll was carried out and an an in-person meeting was held at Hadley Community Centre on February 4, 2025.

Councillor Callear said after the meeting that the preferred option was to implement an experimental closure of the road at the junction with Church Street. Further feedback was sought throughout the closure.

Backlash

But a backlash was immediate, with residents again divided on whether they had been invited to that meeting. Some claimed it had been a 'secret' or 'selective' meeting.

And, challenged at a meeting of the parish council, Councillor Callear said she had personally delivered leaflets to each household on the estate.

In December 2025 two members of the public attended a meeting of Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council. A man from Caldera Road was against the closure, while a woman was in favour.

The Caldera Road resident said he had been “dropping my daughter off to nursery, came back and the road was fully closed, with no notice given and no prior warning”.

He said he found out that “feedback was split 50-50” from 56 members of the public who had responded out of hundreds of homes.

Councillor Callear said she had personally put a letter through every letterbox.

She urged the man to take part in the consultation and register his views. She added that she was unhappy with just one day's notice.

At the same meeting a woman supported the experimental closure and wanted a lower speed limit. She was also encouraged to feed her suggestion into the borough's consultation.