There is growing anger among Plympton residents over the decision to site a works compound in the Market Road car park for the 45 week duration of the remaining work on the Eastern Corridor Road Improvement Scheme.
The entirety of the overflow car park at Market Road has been commandeered for the site compound with office cabins, vehicles and other items being stored there in a large cordoned off area since the work started on 2 September. Other than for a short period of time next year when the fairground makes its annual visit to the site the compound will remain in situ until the road improvements have been completed.
However widespread concern has been raised over the lack of public consultation which took place prior to the decision being made to commandeer the car park, the problems posed by the reduced public parking space available and the issues posed by it being sited right next to Plympton St Mary’s Infants School.
Within just the first week a number of potential health and safety infringements have been identified and many residents fear the situation is an accident waiting to happen.
Plymouth City Council has defended its decision to commandeer the site for the compound, claiming local councillors raised no issues when they were consulted about the intention to use it.
A Plymouth City Council spokesman said:
“The non-tarmacked section of the car park was chosen for use as the site compound because it is one of only a handful of sites big enough to accommodate it.
“It was not featured in the public consultation because the consultation focused on the design of the scheme, rather than the logistics of construction. However, all of the local ward councillors were recently consulted and no issues were raised.”
The council spokesman claimed other locations had been considered including a disused private car park between the long redundant Allied Carpets and Plymco Homemaker buildings on the Erril Retail Park next to Buyology.
“Space near the vacant units at Erril Retail Park was considered and investigated but planned work by the land owner ruled it out. Coypool Park and Ride was also in the frame, but discounted,”
added the council spokesperson.
Residents have drawn little comfort from the Council’s explanation. Helen Jackson summed up the view of many, saying:
“Road works need to be done but this is not a sensible place to set up a base. It’s dangerous with all the traffic and with so many children headed to school and the park. The council refused a crossing as too expensive and there’s no longer a lollipop person. It’s not safe.”
Local mother of three Michaela Willsher described her distress at the decision:
“My son goes to St Mary’s school. I have twins of age 2. I drive as I live in Chaddlewood, the stress this has brought me is unreal.”
Paul Griffin has experience of highways work and remarked:
“As someone who has done plenty of works on the road, we were always told that working near schools was highly restricted, so to choose a site outside an infants school is madness.”
On the morning of 9 September Plympton Erle councillor Terri Beer met on site with the contractors to voice concerns her constituents had raised with her following the setting up of the compound and believed she had reached an understanding with the contractors that there would be no contractor vehicle movements at the compound between 3pm and 4pm to avoid clashing with school kicking out time.
However the very same afternoon a laden dumper truck was going in and out of the site during the moratorium time and a site van exited from the compound as the dumper truck arrived for one of its visits. Cllr Beer said she was “very angry” about this upon being presented with video evidence of what had taken place just hours after her discussions with the contractors. The gates to the compound were also photographed showing they had been left partly open after the dumper truck left leaving a gap wide enough for a young child to wander inside the compound.
Plympton resident Matt Ramsden was so incensed with the situation that he set up an online petition on change.org calling for the council to re-site the compound. It had achieved 250 signatures within the first 24 hours of it going live.
The decision to use the car park as a site compound has also met with the disapproval of the Plym Vics Rugby Club who have only recently brought the sports hut at St Mary’s Park back into use and adopted the park as its home ground.
A source for the club said:
“It’s typical that Plym Vic finally have a home ground. We had a fantastic turn out of supporters last week (for the first home match of the new season) and now it’s looking like the two teams will barely be able to park.”
