A community group has called on Wolverhampton City Council to end its ‘secrecy’ over plans to change a busy Tettenhall junction.

Tettenhall Wightwick councillor Wendy Thompson has seconded the frustrations, calling the council’s lack of transparency unacceptable and impolite.

Wolverhampton City Council faced huge backlash earlier this year after it proposed to introduce a trial period of a ban on right turns where Tettenhall Road meets Henwood Road and Lower Street, locally known as The Rock junction. 

The junction ranks second worst in the city for crashes and is one of the most congested.  In the last five years 12 personal injury collisions were recorded, with seven of those related to vehicles turning right. The lack of separate lanes for vehicles turning right means the route is often blocked for other vehicles who are not turning.

Wolverhampton City Council proposed the right turn ban from both Lower Street and Henwood Road in a bid to keep traffic moving more freely. However, both residents and councillors claimed it would only result in too much traffic being moved from main roads into residential areas which are characterised by blind bends, constricted lanes and lacking in footpaths in some sections.  

The council faced fierce backlash as residents and councillors said the right turn ban at The Rock would create more hazards and challenges than it would resolve. More than 300 people attended a protest in January against the proposals. 

Since then, Wolverhampton City Council has been keeping the plans around the junction tightly under wraps. Councillor Wendy Thompson said the earlier backlash should have put an end to it all, but instead the council is engaging with a consultancy firm to further consider the matter.

Neal Kelshaw, chairman of the Tettenhall Community District Trust, said the council promised to keep the group informed on any changes earlier this year but said it hasn’t been informed at all. The TCDT submitted a petition asking the council to consider an alternative six-point plan to help resolve the ongoing problems at the junction, but again, the group said this has been ignored. 

Neal submitted a Freedom of Information Request to Wolverhampton City Council regarding The Rock junction proposals. The council’s response stated it held the requested information and recognised the strong public interest, but it considered that there was ‘greater public interest’ in not revealing the information. 

Cllr Wendy Thompson said: “Residents have made it clear their opposition to the scheme and that should have been an end to the matter. However the council has insisted on continuing by engaging a firm of consultants to further consider the matter. The criteria and the cost are unknown despite requests. 

“Residents quite reasonably should have a right to express a view on a major decision affecting the place where they live. At present, there is no sign of this, which is totally unacceptable and frankly not even polite. Perhaps the council has forgotten where its priorities should be. I am unable to understand the amount of secrecy surrounding this and the Council’s inexplicable attitude.”

A Wolverhampton City Council spokesperson said: “The process regarding proposals for The Rock junction is ongoing. We will ensure that all comments received on this issue during the consultation phase will be considered and we will be updating residents next month.”