Residents have written to object to new designs for the junction at a new housing estate currently under construction near Warwick and Leamington.

Locals have called for “common sense” with the plans at Banbury Road and Myton Road, as a planning application submitted to Warwick District Council (WDC) has revealed the designs for the link have been updated.

Work is well underway on the 900 homes, primary school and park and ride at The Asps, with Warwickshire County Council already starting extensive roadworks in the area.

Developers Taylor Wimpey and Bloor Homes have been forced to update the designs for the new junction, which has led to a significant number of objections.

Among the near-80 comments submitted to the planning application, one is a petition from nearby Bridge End, Archery Fields, the Courtyard, Brooke Close and the Templars households which says it has been signed by 95 per cent of the residents there.

“We believe the scheme is fundamentally flawed, will do nothing to improve traffic flow in and out of Warwick and represents a gross misuse of public money obtained as a result of the Asps Development Section 106 Funding,” it said.

Among their concerns, residents said of the designs: “Replacing a roundabout with traffic lights will not improve traffic flow and potentially reduces air quality with standing traffic. 

“The design does not consider pedestrian (especially school students) safety, as no pedestrian crossings have been included in the scheme and the existing pedestrian island has been removed.”

When planning permission for the development was granted on appeal in 2020 it was agreed a 'turn left slip' from Banbury Road North to Myton Road would be built, as well as a signalised junction onto the road.

However, the developers found a number of mature trees in the area and "extensive utilities" have made this impractical.

Over the past three years the developers have been working with WCC to create a new design for the junction, which now needs planning permission from the district council.

New designs would see the existing roundabout removed, the carriageway widened - to a lesser extent than before - and a new cycle/pedestrian crossing installed.

Writing in objection, Mark Zalud said: “The proposed plan for the Myton Road/Banbury Road junction makes me wonder if anyone from the planning department has actually spent any time observing the gridlock in this area during peak times. 

“Common sense dictates that replacing the traffic island with traffic lights will exacerbate the queues by removing the more effective human decision-making element from the traffic flow while also eliminating much of the randomness in the traffic movement that presents opportunities for vehicles to pull in and out of the Bridge End side roads.”

Charles Bartholemew added: “I am very concerned at the proposal to replace the current roundabout with traffic lights, and to make the Bridge End arm of the junction one-way only, into Bridge End. 

“The proposal would have significant negative consequences for Bridge End residents and traffic, both generally and particularly during the regular weekday morning and afternoon/evening busy traffic periods.”

The original application also dictates the junction must be complete before 200 of the homes are built and occupied. 

"A key reason for the improvement scheme was to improve capacity at this key junction but the approved mitigation scheme was found to offer limited capacity improvement over the existing layout," the application said. 

"Additionally, changes in transport policy reinforce the need for better infrastructure for active travel which necessitates changes in the previously approved design."

See the full application here.