New Oswestry housing estate 'won't cause traffic problems' - developers
Traffic from a 150-home estate will be able to use a new road through an adjoining development, cutting the amount of vehicles using residential roads.
A traffic management scheme produced for an application to build the houses off Middleton Road, Oswestry, says the new estate will not cause significant disruption to local roads.
Residents who live near to the site say that local roads are already choked and say the extra traffic will make matters worse.
Jennings Estates Ltd wants to build the homes as part of the Oswestry sustainable urban extension.
A highways impact assessment for the company says the extra homes will generate about 85 extra car journeys each morning and evening rush hour.
With an adjoining scheme for about 600 homes recently granted planning permission the document says that much of the traffic will use its spine road which will exit onto a new roundabout on the Shrewsbury Road and then the Mile End island on the Oswestry bypass.
Resident, Sue Stewart has written to Shropshire Council saying drivers will still use the Middleton Road and Cabin lane alternative.
This, she says, will turn nearby residential roads such as Aston Way and Prince Charles Road into rat runs, adding: "There are already restrictions and a one-way section already in place in Middleton Road."
Mrs Stewart said many drivers looked to avoid the section of Cabin Lane that has speed humps by using the smaller, residential roads. She says she believes that the estate will put far more cars onto the roads than forecast.
The highway assessment says an adjacent development has an associated link road connecting to Shrewsbury Road.
"This link road will result in development traffic associated with the Middleton Road application destined for Whittington Roundabout to route via the proposed link road and its access roundabout then through Mile End Roundabout."
Earlier this year the Government awarded a £9.3 million grant to Shropshire Council for improvement work to both the Mile End and the Whittington Roundabouts to accommodated extra traffic generated by the sustainable urban extension to Oswestry.
The funding will also go towards building the new Shrewsbury Road roundabout and a bridge from the new developments to a proposed Innovation park for new businesses for town.
Shropshire Council will consider the planning application for the 150 homes at a future date.
