Angus council bosses are using an “experimental” order to ban local drivers from using a road outside their homes while also refusing to repair or maintain it.
Letham residents are furious about incoming rules designed to cut traffic congestion at the nearby primary school.
They claim bosses have pushed through the order – which prevent drivers using Braehead Road for a total of five hours a day – without proper consultation.
From summer 2022 Braehead Road will be closed for its entire length between 7.45am to 9.15am and from 2.45pm to 6.15pm during the school term.
Part of the road is ‘unadopted’. That means the council is not responsible for its upkeep.
Local authority leaders maintain the school traffic exclusion zone scheme has been successful in other parts of the county.
Bosses have introduced bans to cut air pollution and protect children from accidents. They say local residents need only apply for a permit to get an exemption.
Paul Ainley is leading a group of local residents fighting the changes.
“Can Angus Council not see the irony in the situation?
“The majority of Braehead Road is unadopted. The council refuse to bring it up to standard or maintain it.
“Yet they wish to legislate for when residents can and cannot use it.
“It is not a surprise then that local residents are somewhat put out.”
Council ‘abusing powers’
Angus Council is trialling “exclusion zones” around five more primary schools in the county from August 16 – Andover, Carlogie, Letham, Liff and Southesk. The announcement came after bosses introduced the scheme at three other sites.
Councils have introduced similar driving bans across Tayside.
Paul accused Angus Council bosses of “abusing their powers” with the permit part of the driving ban scheme.
He said an application requires a wide range of documents, including proof of vehicle ownership and registration documents.
“The application process for a permit is onerous – particularly so for older people. All, we feel, way in excess of the information required to operate such a scheme.”
Paul said the community are willing to compromise on the details of the scheme, but the council’s current approach is like “using a hammer to crack a nut”.
But he said council bosses do not want to listen.
“Residents support the idea of safe travel to and from school for kids.
“In line with other exclusion zones in Angus we would be prepared to accept a reasonable time when traffic should be excluded.
“But our questions have either not been answered fully, not been answered at all, or we get a lecture on the green, climate change agenda as to why this is necessary.”
He said the unadopted status of Braehead Road has only angered residents further.
Parts of the road are so potholed that residents believe they could soon cause an accident.
Angus driving ban order ‘genuinely experimental’
An Angus Council spokesperson said the local authority is using an “experimental traffic regulation order” (ETRO) to deliver the school exclusion zone.
She said they are “designed to allow for objections to be dealt with while they are in force over an initial period of six months”.
She said the unadopted status of Braehead Road “does not preclude the introduction of the ERTO.
“It remains a road that is open to the public, albeit not maintained by Angus Council.”
“ETROs are genuinely experimental and can be adapted along the way to achieve something workable whilst also continuing to ensure that due process is carried out and any objections properly considered.”
The local authority had already held stakeholder meetings at each of the five new exclusion zones sites, she added.
“In relation to the permit process, this has been tried and tested. Assistance can be provided to any applicant to help with the process.
“The times selected relate to the recognised school drop off and pick up times. They are based on experience elsewhere, which would also apply to Letham Primary School.”
Conversation