HIGHWAYS boss Philip Whitehead has upset Devizes Town Council by accusing it of wasting money by changing its mind over planters that were put by the side of a rat run road to slow traffic.

Town councillors voted to remove the planters in Rotherstone after people living nearby said they were causing more road safety issues than they were solving.

But Wiltshire councillor Philip Whitehead, who was at the meeting and opposed the idea, later hit out at the council for wasting Wiltshire Council money on this and other schemes.

He said: "They have not given the planters a chance. I am not sure it is even legal for them to remove the planters as they were paid for by Wiltshire Council. It is a waste of thousands of pounds. Planters have been shown to slow down traffic but they did not give the scheme enough time. It is madness.

"Previously the council changed its mind about a pedestrian crossing in Bath Road and that also wasted a lot of money that had gone into planning the project."

But deputy town clerk Simon Fisher and Mayor Jane Burton, who chaired the meeting, were disappointed and angered by Mr Whitehead's comments and pointed out that it was the council's duty to listen to what people want.

Mr Fisher said: "We try and work as closely as we can with Wiltshire Council but our first priority has to be to our residents. We had been under the impression that consultation had been carried out before the planters were put in but it turned out it hadn't.

"When we realised that people in Rotherstone didn't want them it was our duty to listen to them."

He pointed out that Devizes Town Council was increasingly taking on services that used to be paid for by Wiltshire such as public toilets and wanted to work with Wiltshire.

He said: “We don’t find his attitude over this very helpful. Wiltshire Council paid for the actual planters but we paid for the installation and the planting. They are now our responsibility.”

The meeting was told by former town councillor Don Jones and residents Paul and Mary Carter that no consultation had taken place. Mrs Carter said: “They are causing more problems than they are solving as the road is so narrow.”

Mr Jones said: “The planters were not expected and are not wanted.”

Other people complained that the large blue containers were dangerous, a hazard and unsightly.