Petition demands changes to Welshpool one-way system

A petition with 1,335 signatures calling for highways chiefs to make changes to Welshpool's controversial one-way system has been handed to council bosses.

The petition, submitted by John Burns from the County Goldsmiths on Church Street, has called for a number of changes to the system which many businesses claim has decimated town centre trade.

Powys County Council is currently reviewing the town's one-way system which was opened in February. Now it has been urged to return the road back to two-way traffic by business leaders in the town.

The petition calls for Brook Street to return to two-way traffic and requests for the Broad Street one-way to continue up town, past the Green Dragon and down to the Raven roundabout.

Councillors were due to be given an update on how the review into the system is progressing at a meeting in Llandrindod Wells today.

Mr Burns has previously claimed that many business in the town have been left struggling since the new system was put in place.

He said: "I've lived in Welshpool since 1974 and have never seen traffic chaos like it is now before.

"I help out at County Goldsmiths Jewellery Shop in Church Street from time to time and the number of people coming into the shop seems to be getting less and less.

"This one-way system is definitely killing the town and I think it needs to be changed sooner rather than later.

"At the moment Brook Street is one-way but I and many others think it should return to a two-way road.

"This will get rid of the holiday traffic from going up the town's main Broad Street and will encourage more people to stop in the town because there will no longer be as many queues.

"A lot of businesses in the town are also concerned about the high speeds some motorists have been travelling at along Brook Street, some have compared it to a bypass but it is in the town centre."

Dozens of motorists have already been stopped for speeding or driving the wrong way along the new system since it opened in January.

Earlier this year town councillors revealed that they had been verbally abused in the street by people who were angry about the new road system.