A Perthshire community is enduring “a nightmare… day-in, day-out” due to traffic congestion residents claim is caused by a huge housebuilding project
Residents in Auchterarder have been left frustrated by “bottleneck” traffic congestion in Hunter Street, where houses are being built by Stewart Milne Homes and Muir Homes.
They say the situation is being exacerbated because a relief road built for the Stewart Milne development is only being used by construction traffic.
Auchterarder Community Council feel opening the relief road would “take the pressure” off Hunter Street, where there also concerns for school children forced to walk on the road when refuse collections take place.
Some residents feel the situation will “only get worse” with Perth and Kinross Council recently granting planning permission to build a major business park on the edge of Auchterarder.
Councillor Crawford Reid, a Scottish Conservative representative for the Strathallan ward, said he had “100% sympathy” for the many residents who have contacted him about the matter.
He said: “People who live there must be suffering a nightmare traffic situation day-in, day-out. I am trying to bring all interested parties together to sort this out.
“This would include representatives at the highest level from Stewart Milne, staff from Muir Homes, council staff, along with some residents who have the local knowledge of the area and obviously a vested interest in trying to find a solution.”
Mr Reid is asking Perth and Kinross Council to clarify who has “ultimate responsibility” for the relief road.
He said: “The link (relief) road is a ‘catch 22’ situation.
“We’ve been told the road will not open to residents until all the houses are built, which could be into 2020, but this is not the best prospect.”
Malcolm Best, chairman of Auchterarder Community Council, said: “Hunter Street is a little road that has seen loads of houses built recently and it is definitely a safety issue.
“There is a real concern when refuse lorries are collecting rubbish as this leads to children having to walk on the road, which is not ideal considering the speed many of the vehicles travel at.”
He continued: “I know Mr Reid has been making efforts to get all the interested parties together and we fully support him. Part of the problem has been caused by building this relief road, which is only being used by construction traffic for the Stewart Milne homes.
“If this was opened up to the public it would take a lot of pressure off the traffic situation.”
A spokesperson for Stewart Milne Homes stressed the company would be happy to meet with Auchterarder Community Council to discuss the issue and addressed the situation regarding use of the relief road.
“In the interest of public safety, we continue to manage our construction traffic responsibly by ensuring that all deliveries and construction traffic use the link road off the new roundabout rather than Hunter Street.
“We will continue to segregate construction access until the link road can be safely opened to the public.”
A Perth and Kinross Counci spokeswoman said: “We do appreciate the impact these sites have on traffic within Auchterarder and are continuing to work with the developers to ask them to remain vigilant in how construction traffic travelling to and from the sites is managed.”
