'Higher value placed on speed than people's lives' - MP slams long wait for change to dangerous Shropshire crossroads

National Highways had previously branded the Llynclys crossroads on the A483 between Oswestry and Llanymynech as the worst in the region when looking at locations where a cluster of incidents had taken place. However, the government-owned company has now stated that the crossroads ranks 54th out of 110 on their current list of 'problem junctions' in the Midlands.

The accident hotspot road has long been considered one of the county's most dangerous junctions, and North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has reinstated her call for change. Mrs Morgan said she believes the junction needs a "re-design" and admitted herself that she avoids approaching the deadly crossroads if possible.

There have previously been calls for a speed reduction and speed cameras to be installed at the junction, and the Liberal Democrat MP also said that National Highways has plans for several fixes including for the installation of traffic lights.

However, the MP stated that due to the next round of funding for highways being delayed by 12 months, nothing will happen along the section of road during the near future.

Mrs Morgan recently raised the issue in Parliament asking the Prime Minister if he will "back National Highways" and give residents "the safe road they deserve". Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded by acknowledging the problem and said "it is vital that as we invest, we do improve safety and deliver better journeys for drivers".

National Highways are currently investigating improvements at the junction through a study.

Helen Morgan MP said: "National highways are quite clear that this is the worst accident blackspot in the whole midlands.

"We've had so many near misses and dangerous crashes here. It's really obvious to me that we need to have the junction re-designed or some speed cameras put in to keep people safe because it's a notoriously dangerous junction.

"We get constant correspondence from the people who live here. We also knocked on the doors of everyone during the general election and it's their number one issue.

"You hear lots of stories about local people driving a long way around to try and avoid using this junction.

"National Highways have a couple of different types of plans in. They've got one with the speed cameras and they’ve also got a plan for some traffic lights.

"What matters here is the funding. The funding formulas place a higher value on the speed of the traffic than they do on people's lives.

"My job here is to lobby the Government and get the best outcome which is to say we can't afford to lose a life here, it's really important that we get some money put in to make this cross junction safe.

"The next round of spending for highways is called RIS 3 and that's been delayed by 12 months.We might see some plans progress over the next year but we're not going to see anything tangible happen in that period.

"I'll be pressing the department for transport really hard in that time to make sure this is something that is on their priority list."

The latest update and calls for change come as the stretch of road between Pant and Llanymynech - just south of the crossroads - is set to be reduced to 30mph.

The MP revealed that she goes out of her way to avoid the junction when possible, adding: "I won’t turn straight across this crossroad. It's not worth it.

"I tend to go all the way around and turn left if I am coming around here if I possibly can.In an ideal world the junction would be re-designed. We need to explore all of the options.

"We need to do something, we can't afford to have a life lost whilst we're talking about possibilities.

"The whole stretch of road is really dangerous. If you come through Pant and Llanymynech down there the speed limit changes all the way along.

"We're very hopeful that that will be sorted out and we will get a consistent speed limit there. It's about just about trying to get the funding signed off and get over that final hurdle."

A National Highways statement said: "Safety is always our number one priority and we are currently carrying out a study which will help us to plan and deliver a number of improvements for this junction.

"We are in regular discussion with Helen Morgan and have updated her on the current position, we will continue to liaise with her office and the local authority as our proposals progress."

Addressing whether the Llynclys crossroads is still regarded as the worst junction in the Midlands, the organisation added: "When we previously looked at locations where a cluster of incidents had taken place within the West Midlands, this junction did rank most highly.

"However, on our current list of 'problem junctions', the crossroads are ranked 54th out of 110 junctions across the Midlands, this is due to a different way of analysing the collision data."