King's Wood Gate residents' concerns over safe pedestrian access

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Wednesday, 7 August 2019 11:02

Residents of a new housing estate on the outskirts of Monmouth fear they are risking their lives by having to cross a busy road to walk into town.

Concerns are being raised about the suitability and safety of the main access path which links the King’s Wood Gate development with local schools and the town centre.

The path crosses the Link Road at the Wonastow Road junction, described by pedestrians as “extremely dangerous” due to its width, blind bends and speeding traffic.

They claim it is impossible to see oncoming vehicles without stepping out into the road, despite minor improvement works recently undertaken by Monmouthshire County Council.

Plans are now being drawn up to develop an alternative route - through a field, the Wonastow Road Industrial Estate and the back of King’s Fee - into a public footpath.

This would connect King’s Wood Gate with the zebra crossing on Wonastow Road at the end of Williams Field Lane using Section 106 funds from the developer, David Wilson Homes.

But residents feel the proposed footpath is unsuitable and will take a “considerable amount of time” to make accessible for wheelchair users, bikes, mobility scooters and pushchairs.

Monmouth MP David Davies said: “It seems residents have two options: cross a dangerous road or use a restricted and unlit gravel/mud path which runs between industrial units, is overgrown, graffitied and littered with broken glass and dog mess."

“Neither are fit for purpose and I can understand why people would think twice about walking down a narrow, hemmed in path on a deserted industrial estate at night.”