The Bath and North East Somerset Councillor with responsibility for transport and highways is to meet with Peasedown St John’s Parish Council in August.
Cllr Tony Clarke, Cabinet Member for Transport, has been invited along to address the village council by B&NES Councillors Karen Walker and Sarah Bevan.
The invitation comes just weeks after B&NES Council agreed look again at what action could be taken to reduce the speed of vehicles around an accident blackspot.
The A367/Bath Road junction, at the southern-end of Peasedown St John, has seen a spate of serious accidents over the last ten years, but despite a persistent decade-long campaign, council leaders have refused to take action.
Cllr Karen Walker (Independent, Peasedown St John) said: “We’re extremely pleased that Cllr Clarke has accepted our invitation to attend a full parish council meeting to discuss this notorious junction.
“For over a decade the community of Peasedown St John has called for further safety measures to be implemented at the Bath Road/A367 junction at the southern end of the village.
“After a string of broken promises and disappointments, we’re hoping that Mr Clarke will be open to cooperative working when he meets with Peasedown Parish Council on 16th August.”
Following the publication of a council report in March this year, which included the results of a £30,000 Feasibility Study, council transport chiefs said that no action would be taken to invest in further safety measures, such as a publicly-backed roundabout, because “the cost of building such a structure and the disruption to traffic during construction far outweigh the traffic and safety necessities.”
Following extensive and continual lobbying from Karen and Sarah, an agreement was reached last month that a further survey to address the ‘inaccuracies’ of March’s report would be undertaken.
Cllr Sarah Bevan (Independent, Peasedown) added: “Some of the report’s conclusions were based on questionable data, including vehicle queuing times and numbers of vehicles in those queues. Some serious accidents over five years definitely warrant further investigation.
“I’m encouraged by officers’ and the cabinet member’s agreement on this after Karen and I put our misgivings to them, and look forward to an enhanced report, especially on the confusing signage for speed restrictions at, and on both approaches to, this junction.”
Cllr Tony Clarke will be attending the Peasedown St John Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 16th August, at 7pm in Beacon Hall. Any member of the public is welcome to attend.
Nathan Hartley, veteran campaigner and member of Peasedown St John Residents’ Association, said: “I’d encourage as many residents as possible to attend this meeting on the 16th.
“This issue has been one of our community’s longest running concerns, with many of us calling for a to be built at this junction since 2005.”
