Cabinet member acts over Knapp Lane concerns

Councillor Brian Wilcox, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and transportation, has agreed to look into requests to close part of Knapp Lane in Ledbury on a trial basis.

The decision comes after he was invited to a meeting of Ledbury Town Council to discuss concerns regarding traffic using Knapp Lane as a “rat run”.

Town councillors voted at that meeting for the partial closure, which will be from the bottom of Knapp Lane up as far as Homend Crescent, subject to a survey being carried out with residents in the immediate area.

Councillor Wilcox said: “I was pleased to be invited to this meeting to discuss the problems of Knapp Lane in person and the possible options available in trying to resolve the issue.

“At the meeting, I was presented with a second petition containing more than 120 signatures requesting the complete closure of the bottom of Knapp Lane. The town council and the two petitions seek the closure of this part of the road and I have agreed to look into this on an experimental basis.

“First of all, however, I must find out what residents of properties who will be directly affected by the closure think about the plan, together with their opinions on other options such as an experimental one-way traffic scheme.

“Once I have considered all the necessary information, I will then seek to introduce an experimental traffic order on Knapp Lane for a trial period. The effect of the restrictions on surrounding roads and Tops Cross will be monitored and the scheme may be varied or withdrawn if major problems occur.

 “I know that Knapp Lane has been a problem for some time and I hope that, by continuing to work closely with the town council, we can come up with a permanent solution to the problem,” he added.