PLANS to provide a bus bay in Easemore Road as part of alterations to Abbey High School under the Redditch Review have led to a backlash from residents.

Calls are being made for a bus entrance to the school from the roundabout at the back of Lidl and Staples to be considered as an alternative, or traffic flow and pollution surveys to be carried out.

Residents have lodged a formal objection to the county council and have called a meeting at the British Legion at 8.30pm tonight, where a petition is to be presented to a county council representative.

Resident Jane Spilsbury said: "Easemore Road is already subject to increased traffic because of the closure of the bus station.

"Buses can only pass one at a time because of parked cars and there are also parking problems because people park here to get into town. The road isn't big enough to cope with this volume of traffic as it is."

Ms Spilsbury added Abbey High School pupils arriving on foot would have to negotiate their way through the bus bay and children walking to St Stephen's Middle School would have to walk in the road.

Redditch Highways Partnership Unit manager Jim Casey said: "Our first priorities have to be for the safety of the children and this is an ideal place for a dropping off point, on education land.

"No parking will be taken away and traffic has decreased since traffic calming and cycle routes were introduced.

"The residents' proposed route is not possible at the moment since there is not the best of accesses from the island and there is also a busy fish and chip shop there."

Mr Casey added: "There are people who are in favour of the scheme."