Lobby to close town road for big events (From Ledbury Reporter)

Lobby to close town road for big events

11:00am Monday 14th January 2013 in News By Robert Hale

MALVERN Town Council is to lobby Worcestershire council to let Belle Vue Terrace be closed to traffic for special events, as it was for a hugely successful diamond jubilee street party last summer.

After the success of the party in June, Great Malvern Association of Traders (GMAT) was dismayed when its request to have the town centre road closed in October for an event to mark the Autumn in Malvern festival was turned down.

Police and Worcestershire County Council objected to the proposal over concerns about traffic congestion in the town centre despite the lack of problems arising from the summer event.

Town councillor Hannah Campbell, who until recently ran a shop on Belle Vue Terrace, presented a notice of motion to the council, calling on it to support the traders.

And at its December meeting, members voted overwhelmingly to write to Worcestershire County Council’s highways department, individual councillors and the police in a bid to change their minds.

Coun Campbell said: “I’m very pleased the council has agreed to back the traders’ call and I hope we can get something done.

“We had the road closed for the jubilee and there were no problems.

I was expecting to get some complaints, but I didn’t get one.”

GMAT chairman Chris Marks said: “I understand the concerns that the authorities have but I think we’ve demonstrated that we can close the road and do it safely.

“They may have a feeling that we got away with it for the jubilee, that we were lucky, but I hope we can convince them that we know what we’re doing.”

County highways manager Jon Fraser said: “We are unable to comment until we have seen the new proposals.

“However the previous application was rejected due to lack of a safe alternative route of the same road classification, the proposed length of closure and the high volume of vehicles normally present in Great Malvern on a Saturday, which could lead to traffic congestion in and around the town centre.”