Sainsbury's criticised in car park protest over A360 junction

Michael Maxwell, a local trying to prompt change at the “dangerous” Black Dog Crossroads near West Lavington, has been protesting in the car park outside Sainsbury’s in Devizes for several weeks.

This has been part of his campaign to convince Wiltshire Council to install traffic lights at the A360 junction, which has seen several “concerning” crashes in recent months.

During these demonstrations, Mr Maxwell displayed ‘The Scream’, a protest artwork affixed to his car, to residents and shoppers.

But on the morning of Sunday, January 28, supermarket staff allegedly instructed him to leave the car park because they could not be seen to take a side in the debate.

Mr Maxwell insists staff threatened to call the police and report him for trespass if he did not remove the protest, but Sainsbury’s denied that this was the case.

The protest artwork at the Sainsbury's car park (Image: Michael Maxwell)

The national retailer says he left peacefully after being informed the car park did not belong to the council.

Mr Maxwell, has criticised the chain for a lack of “community spirit” and says several other shoppers branded the incident a “disgrace.”

He said: “I was shocked because I had been there for three weekends and the staff had told me some of them had been injured at the junction.

“Then suddenly the duty manager came out and told me I had to go, I asked to speak to the manager and he told me to leave immediately because it might be suggesting Sainsbury’s was supporting my cause.

“I took my bits and pieces down and other shoppers said it was a disgrace and not community spirited at all, I’m only talking about a black spot, what’s wrong with that?

“There was no shouting or music, it was very frustrating.”

Michael Maxwell has protested at Sainsbury's car park (Image: Newsquest)

It has been suggested that some elements of the protest were graphic and upsetting, but Mr Maxwell says he has received positive feedback on the idea of displaying the car at Morrisons.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “A man visited our Devizes store car park last Sunday to raise awareness of a traffic safety concern in the area.

“Our colleagues explained the car park was owned by Sainsbury’s and not the council and he left peacefully.”

Despite Mr Maxwell’s protest, Wiltshire Council’s policy is to improve sight lines at the junction by realigning it.

While a variety of solutions were considered, this decision was reached after consultation with local councillors.