Local residents in Ickleford get the hump!

Local residents of Ickleford (just outside Hitchin) have been making their displeasure known about the 'New Year safety improvement scheme' that is underway in the village.

The work that started on January the 11th coincides with the work being carried out on Bedford Road in Hitchin and has the remit of putting flat top road humps and speed cushions on Turnpike Lane and Arlesey Road. The scheme has several other safety improvements to install including upgraded street lighting, vehicle activated speed sign and raised zebra crossing outside Ickleford School.

Councillors have stated that they had a clear mandate by locals for the work to go ahead. Several of these residents have written to the local newspapers to state that at a proposed planning meeting last year they were told that it was a 'all or nothing' proposition and that the questionnaire that was sent out to all residents in Ickleford was 'skewed.' All of these residents stated that they did not approve of this scheme.

The same theme ran through all of these letters of complaint; the cost and who was footing the bill, as all were harmonious in their view that the road humps were not necessary as they do not suffer with a major problem of speeding on these two roads.

Sadly, this is now a pointless exercise as the work has started and therefore will be completed irrespective of the local residents views.