Villagers say no need for £80,000 road overhaul in Stoke St Michael

Residents in a quiet, rural Somerset village are crying foul after agreeing a spot of traffic calming might help in the village – only to discover an “urban” landscape was descending, complete with roundabout, bollards, traffic islands and a “gateway” at every entrance to the village.

Somerset’s highways department has already started work on an £80,000 scheme in Stoke St Michael that many villagers are saying they don’t want and the parish council said they weren’t given time to be consulted on.

The start of the work is being eyed jealously in nearby Doulting and Prestleigh, where there has been a long campaign for traffic calming, and resident Duncan Elliott said the situation is being made worse because villagers didn’t ask for such a grand scheme.

He said there was little problem with traffic, they merely wanted better pavements and a few signs to be altered. The village has no history of road accidents but did make a series of suggestions for minor improvements, including a 20mph speed limit, raised road levels, new pavements for pedestrians and visits from the speed camera team.

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Instead villagers say a new roundabout plan has been unveiled.

Mr Elliott said: “Many residents wonder why this large scheme is being imposed on them and with such speed. We suspect there is a highways underspend.

“It defies the fundamental law of common sense: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”