MORE than 4,000 people have signed a petition calling for the county council to press ‘pause’ on a controversial road improvement scheme.

Residents say current plans to upgrade the A38 corridor “will not only be a waste of money but cause damage to the environment.”

The petition was handed in at a meeting of Worcestershire County Council last Thursday (July 11).

The A38 Bromsgrove Route Enhancement Programme (BREP) includes improvements to junctions affected by congestion plus new cycling and walking routes.

But residents have been unhappy about the number of trees that have been cut down to make way for cycle paths and are now calling for a rethink.

Speaking at last week’s meeting on behalf of residents, Jonathan Coleman said: “Let me be clear. Our request is not to cancel BREP, but to pause it, so a vital review of the aims of the scheme can be undertaken.

“We recognise and understand the necessity of improving transport infrastructure in Bromsgrove.

“However, through a combination of factors and revisions, we believe the current plans will not only be ineffective and a waste of money but cause damage to the local environment that will take decades to rectify.”

“Pausing the project for a review will harm no one. However charging ahead will cause further irreparable damage and if there is any chance of avoiding this damage, we have a duty to take it.

“Accordingly, it is time we take a step back, put the options on the table and address the concerns [of residents].

“Most importantly, we believe the existing reports and studies have overstated the potential benefits with concerns underrepresented.

“As an example, it is marked ‘environmental impacts’ as ‘slightly adverse or neutral’. I think we can all agree the removal of nearly 300 mature trees and more to come is considerably worse than ‘slight’.”

Mr Coleman said it was time to reassess the need for a Western bypass for the town.

“Bromsgrove’s traffic issues lie with volume,” he said. “There are too many cars passing through a limited infrastructure, with more to come.

“We have new housing estates being bolted on and expect the existing road network to cope when it is already failing. A common sense assessment shows current BREP plans do not address any of this.”

Council chairman Tracey Onslow said Mr Coleman would get a written response from the relevant cabinet member “in due course”.