Children protest over rat run fears near Oswestry

The children and their parents are appealing to Shropshire Council to revoke an order allowing access to a new housing estate through Kingfisher Way, Morda, making it a through road.

An estate of 60 homes on Weston fields, adjacent to Kingfisher Way in Morda.

Residents are not objecting to the the development, only the turning of their road into a through road.

Lisa Griffiths, moved to Kingfisher Way to bring up her family, because it was a quiet cul-de-sac.

"As they have grown up the children who live here have been about to go out and play together on the green and as they have got older, down to the Morda Brook. They have had a childhood all children should be able to have," she said.

"We are asking that instead of a through road, there are two cul-de-sacs with pedestrian only access linking the two developments."

Flooding

Lisa said residents were told the road had to be open to ensure there was a point of access from the new housing estate in case of flooding.

"But in order for the road to flood this would mean that several of the new houses would first have to be under water," she said.

Mark Wootton, Shropshire Council’s north and central area manager for developing highways, said: “The issue surrounding potential rat running through the development between Morda Road and Weston Road was considered as part of the planning application process, which included the linking of Kingfisher Way and the new development internal estate road through to The Ashes.

“Whilst noting the concerns of residents, it is considered that the potential for rat running is highly unlikely due to the circuitous alignment of the estate road layout. Moreover, the routing of traffic via Weston Road to its junction with Morda Road and vice versa is far more attractive to a driver wishing to traverse between these two roads.

“In short, there is no reason to suggest why drivers would consider Kingfisher Way and The Ashes as a more attractive route than Morda Road and Weston Road.”