DOZENS of Marlborough residents have come together to try and tackle the traffic and safety issues that plague Kingsbury Street, claiming their concerns have gone unnoticed for more than 10 years.

Denise Foy, 61, conducted a consultation among 40 of her fellow Kingsbury Street residents and received unanimous support for her plans for a 20mph zone, weight restrictions to deter heavy goods vehicles and more policing on the narrow corner by the town hall, where vans load and unload deliveries to nearby shops.

She was joined by 11 other residents when she took her findings, which also highlighted concerns over traffic, residents’ parking, damage to Dormy House and the need for a metro count to be installed, to councillors at an extraordinary town council meeting on November 21.

“Our concern is that someone will die if this problem is not addressed soon. People have raised concerns about this for over a decade and yet nothing has happened. Lives are at risk here,” she said.

“On that narrow corner, there is not much room when two normal-sized cars are there and when HGVs are there, it is a disaster waiting to happen.

“I have lived on that road since 2014 and I have always been shocked by the speed at which drivers have sped up and down the hill. A lot of people cross over by that corner and it is very dangerous.

“We have put together a report and hopefully something can come from this. It is a step in the right direction as the council took our concerns on board but we need to get something back from Wiltshire Council to make any real headway.

“We have submitted letters to the highways department but we keep getting bounced around from them to the area board. All of them need to be more aware of this nightmarish issue.”

Coun Mervyn Hall told the residents at the meeting that the issue did not fall under the town council’s remit and should be taken up with the highways department at Wiltshire Council.

Town councillors did agree to support the installation of a metro count, which they say could cost around £3,000, to record the speed at which vehicles travel along the road, and to put another sign at the top of the street saying it is unsuitable for HGVs.

Coun Nick Fogg said: “I applaud the residents’ efforts in highlighting an issue that really needs to be addressed. Wiltshire Council did not even acknowledge the problem but they do now – it is like water dripping on stone.

“This issue is threatening people’s lives so this is a step in the right direction.”

Mrs Foy's other solutions to the problems on Kingsbury Street included getting cars to park on the Common and temporarily adjusting the camera on the town hall to judge speeding and dangerous traffic.