Traffic disruption and council meetings

Update on roadworks in Victoria Road, Shifnal

Residents of Shifnal will be acutely aware of the disruption being caused in the Town Centre due to road works taking place in Victoria Road.  The Town Mayor, Councillor Harrop contacted Shropshire Council on behalf of the residents of Shifnal who have suffered horrendous traffic disruption The work was due to be confined to 5 days from the 22nd to the 27th of March. There has been a knock on effect with routing of Idsall School Coaches that have been mounting pavements in Curriers Lane directly outside the School.  Similarly, in Shrewsbury Road, where residents have been met with the same coaches mounting the pavement, along with buses, heavy goods vehicles, tractors and refuse lorries.

The response from Shropshire Council officers was that STW/ Amey are carrying out emergency /urgent works to rectify blocked and a potentially collapsed line. The council received a duration extension request last Wednesday (24/03) for a further week due to mass services being discovered in the highway causing a delay, as trench support is now required.

An officer of the council has spoken with the Site Supervisor who assured him that works would continue over the weekend and that the road should be reinstated today (29/03) and the closure lifted Tuesday 30/03/21 once it has cured.

As a further update on these works, the council received a report from the STW site supervisor. Unfortunately, the unforeseen site conditions encountered will delay the original expected completion time, to which a formal request to extend the end date to 02/04/21 (this coming Friday) has been submitted.

This was challenged and the end date estimation of 1st April was agreed to minimise any further potential disruption into the Bank Holiday weekend.

Council Meeting Guidance

Shropshire Association of Local Councils (SALC) https://www.alcshropshire.co.uk/ provided an update on the Governments’ announcement that it will not be extending virtual meetings beyond the 7th of May.  Following this confirmation, Government has also updated the guidance on the safe use of council buildings which should help councils operate safely and securely, including using existing powers to reduce the number of face-to-face meetings deemed necessary.

Over the last 12 months, during lockdowns, I have attended County, Town and Parish Council meetings via Zoom and Microsoft Teams.  There are some advantages to face-to-face meetings but overall, once the initial technical hurdles were overcome the meetings all went very smoothly online.  Whilst it is encouraging that COVID restrictions are gradually being lifted, there may be issues where there are, for example, a dozen councillors meeting face to face and members of the public present, if the rooms being used (especially in parish meetings) are quite small.  Shropshire Council is continuing to lobby the government over this matter. 

Wombling

Inspired by others in the TF11 Wombles and the Albrighton Litter Pickers, and with some free time on my hands, I decided to have a go at clearing some of the rubbish I had noticed on Stanton Road.  I was shocked at how much rubbish there is in just a few square yards.  I found canisters, a glass panel door, numerous cans of Foster’s lager (someone clearly prefers that brand) and large pieces of Perspex.  I ended up with four bags of rubbish which I left by the bins at Aston Street car park.  One of the residents came out to greet me, initially thinking I was dumping rubbish rather than collecting it and we discussed rural crime and theft of commercial / industrial vehicles in that area.

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Shifnal Millennium Garden

The weather was lovely today and the flowers are blooming in the Millennium Garden.  Residents have been taking snapshots of the flora.  This area next to the church is a great asset to the Town and I am lucky to have it on my doorstep and visit it regularly with my two young children. My thanks go to the volunteers that make this such a nice place to sit and contemplate life.

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