Residents’ delight as fence plan axed

RESIDENTS are celebrating after plans for an eight-foot fence by Highways England were shelved.

Highways England announced plans for the fence at Ryton-onDunsmore at the end of October and said construction work would begin on Monday November 13.

But furious residents swung into action and launched a campaign to oppose the fence, which they feared would ruin their countryside views. Highways England said the aim was to shield residents from the busy A45.

Leading the way were residents of Bagshaw Close, who were those set to be most seriously affected.

Rachel Nicholson , who lives in Bagshaw Close, said: “There really hadn’t been any consultation at all.

“The first we heard of it was when we got letters through our doors on October 30 saying work would start on November 13. Everyone thought we know nothing about this, so we started contacting Highways England and Kier Group, who were set to construct the fence.

“No one seemed to be able to explain why we didn’t know.

“We canvassed opinion in Bagshaw Close and a poll revealed 97 per cent of the residents did not want it.

“We then started canvassing people in the village and found out people really didn’t want it. “We started a petition and ended up getting more than 600 signatures.” Ms Nicholson said the parish and borough councils were not aware of the fence plan either. Residents also contacted Kenilworth and Southam MP Jeremy Wright and in the wake of the furore the plan was postponed to enable a meeting between Highways England representatives and residents. That took place at Ryton Village Hall this week and led to an immediate and positive outcome for residents.

Ms Nicholson said: “The whole business has brought the community together wonderfully.

“Wednesday’s meeting was with the Highways England project manager.

“They showed us a slide show and said they had a budget to spend on a visual impact scheme.

“We asked why it couldn’t be used on potholes instead but they said it was earmarked for a specific purpose and had to be used for that.”

Residents were then taken aback when Highways England representatives said they would shelve the plan.

Ms Nicholson said: “They apologised for the way they had gone about it, said they would not do the fence but plant greenery instead.

“We were shocked to be honest but delighted.”

The whole business has brought the community together wonderfully. We were shocked... but delighted. Rachel Nicholson