THE chair of a Basingstoke group campaigning for equal access for people in the town said he hopes that ‘dangerous errors’ made in the design of a housing estate will be corrected.

John Wall, chair of Access4All, said that despite writing a report on the issues at Longacre in December 2020, nothing has been done to rectify them.

A group from Access4All visited the site in 2020 and found various problems.

As previously reported, residents have complained that the estate was designed without any pavements along many of the roads.

Read more: Residents label Longacre 'shared road' design as 'crazy' and 'dangerous'

The borough council and Linden Homes said they are ‘shared roads’ designed to be used equally between pedestrians and vehicles. However, residents say it is an “accident waiting to happen”.

Mr Wall said it was “very unreasonable” that the issues raised by Access4All have not been addressed.

He added that he hopes the Gazette articles will “kickstart an initiative of correcting errors made in the design of this particular estate. Hoping more action and not apathy from those responsible”.

Access4All found that the road crossing rumble strips, designed to slow cars down, were “impossible” for wheelchair or buggy users to cross.

Its report said: “We think that it is positively dangerous for people to walk across.”

See also: Report reveals 'design failure' at development with 'shared roads'

It added: “There is no way to avoid them. A cyclist can’t safely cycle across them. The same goes for wheelchair users, buggy and pram pushers and those walking across these strips. They’re also very difficult to negotiate for visually impaired people.”

The group also raised concerns about limited parking which forced people to park on pathways, leading to these becoming blocked.

“Combined with the unsafe rumble strips and no pavements at all in some places, getting from A to B is difficult, if not impossible, for people in the area whether or not they have other issues with mobility.”

Mr Wall urged the council to use Access4All’s expertise during the planning application process for developments, to “avoid issues of access”.

Read also: Residents left underwhelmed by new £24k sculpture at Longacre

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's head of planning, sustainability and infrastructure Ruth Ormella said: “This development was approved in September 2015 subject to a condition that a second-stage road safety audit would be submitted by the developers, to address the points raised in the stage one audit.

“The stage two audit was submitted and a consultation took place with the borough council’s highway officers who had no objection, subject to the recommendations being carried out.

"In respect of the shared surface area, the recommendation was that textured paving be installed in shared surface areas. The borough council has not received any complaints from the public about the shared surface areas, nor is it aware of a breach of planning permission in regards to the textured paving."

See more: Roads are 'shared equally' at Longacre

Hampshire County Council said at the time of planning approval being granted, the borough council held the role of highway authority as part of an agreement. County Council officers were therefore not involved in the planning process for Longacre.

However, a spokesperson said the shared street space is “appropriate for developments of this type where traffic volumes are typically low”.

Linden Homes has been asked for a comment.