Road closure call backed by council (From Worcester News)

Road closure call backed by council

8:00pm Monday 14th January 2013 in News By Robert Hale

MALVERN Town Council is to lobby the county council to allow Belle Vue Terrace to 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 of traffic congestion in the town centre.

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.

At its December meeting, members voted to write to Worcestershire County Council’s highways department, 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.”

GMAT chairman Chris Marks said: “I understand the concerns that the authorities have, but I think we have 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.”