THE ISSUE
Residents throughout Weston Village, Locking Castle and Haywood Village are concerned about the safety of several areas within the ward – it’s one of the common concerns raised to me.
A particular issue is the Runway at Haywood Village which has become a hotspot for speeding – my research shows in 2023 there were 1,600 incidents of speeding caught by police in that area alone!
Parents from Winterstoke Hundred have raised concerns to me about the lack of safe crossing points to school within Haywood Village and Weston Village.
Further a new school is planned to be built near the runway in 2026 and unless action is taken to improve road safety I am concerned this could have severe consequences.
Residents of Haywood Village also fed back to me near misses on the local roundabout due to poor signage, and those living in Weston Village have reported speeding too.
THE NEWS
CAMPAIGN UPDATE
Improved safety ahead of new primary school
Our lobbying has been successful! A planning condition focussed on traffic calming, crossing points, speed restrictions, parking management and waiting restrictions has been required as part of the approval for a new primary school in Haywood Village.
We’ve been lobbying and sharing evidence of the safety concerns around the runway for some time so it’s great to see this has helped to shape the planning approval. I’ll keep an eye on these conditions as well as the detailed designs and discussions to push for the best possible improvements ahead of the new school opening in September 2026.
Outside of the planning application we have also secured a toucan crossing to improve safety (more below).
👩🏫AIRFIELD PRIMARY ACADEMY - a new primary school for Haywood Village
Recently the planning application for a new 630 place primary school, with 103 place nursery and a community hub which includes studios, 4 community grass pitches (one of which will be floodlit), a youth football pitch, a floodlit artificial grass pitch and a MUGA, has been approved in Haywood Village.
We now also know the name: it’ll be called Airfield Primary Academy - a nod to the site's rich aviation history, and will be run by the Cabot Learning Federation.
The new school and facilities will be open from September 2026.
It’s great to see that finally this application has been approved and it’ll provide much needed school places for the growing population of Haywood Village as well as sports facilities for community use.
I and Cllr Williams and Cllr Chard have been working closely with the council and Persimmon Homes on this application to ensure that the concerns around road safety have been understood.
I’m pleased to read these concerns were heard and that the application for the school was approved with conditions focussed on traffic calming, crossing points, speed restrictions, parking management, waiting restrictions/road markings. We’ll still keep an eye on these plans as they are subject to more detailed designs and discussions.
Outside of this planning process there will also now be a toucan crossing at the top of the runway near Winterstoke Hundred, heading towards the Helicopter Museum. This is in the process of being designed and procured and will also improve safety near the runway.
16 CommentsComment on Facebook
Great news!
Great news. Cllr Ciarán Cronnelly - Weston super Mare do you think we'll see the toucan crossing element prior to sept 2026? I see this as vital for the secondary school kids getting to school safely.
Would be good if the toucan crossing was installed ASAP for the children who walk / cycle to WHA at locking parklands from Haywood village. They cross at the roundabout by the landing light and it’s such a dangerous road for them to cross. Really can’t believe there isn’t one already there considering WHA opened in January.
Fire station next??
Great news, but a shame that the council can't be bothered to put double yellow lines along Bransby Way on Weston Village alongside Heron's Moor school to alleviate congestion and reduce the chances of pedestrians getting injured!!
Sounds brilliant, can't wait to see the new crossing, very much needed!
No wonder the original dwellings around the old airfield are now prone to constant flooding.
No wonder they want a MuckyD's at the Helicopter Museum.
Kelsey White would of put oscar here but its a year too late lol
Good stuff 😄 more parks and shops and drs surgery too
Rachel Leaman
Cassie Louise Guest ,
Jodie Louise
Dave Taylor
Jamie Ridgway
Campaign win – toucan crossing coming!
After a lot of lobbying and working with partners to obtain evidence of the dangers of the Runway, I’m delighted to confirm that North Somerset Council has listened to my campaign and a toucan crossing is coming!
The council has consulted on a traffic regulation order for a toucan crossing across the runway between Winterstoke Hundred, and the Helicopter Museum. This will make the road so much safer for everyone.
The next stage is for the traffic lights to be built and installed and I’ll continue to monitor progress and ensure this is done. Current timelines suggest it could be completed by summer 2025.
📢 PROGRESS UPDATE: TOUCAN CROSSING AT THE RUNWAY
We know that road safety on The Runway is a common concern we get contacted about as your councillors, particularly the crossing point between The Helicopter Museum (Official) and Winterstoke Hundred Academy, which is why we made it one of our priorities when we stood for election.
Since 2023 we've been working in the background to try and make the case for a traffic light, having various conversations with Persimmon Homes, North Somerset Council and speaking to the police about speeding evidence to help make the case.
We're now able to share that plans have been drawn up for a toucan crossing point at The Runway between the Helicopter Museum and Winterstoke Hundred Academy.
This is at an early stage and the next part of the process is for the council to issue a 'notice of intent' which is done through consulting on a traffic regulation order - this is the legal process the council have to go through before they can build the toucan crossing.
The consultation on the TRO has now launched and can be found here (scroll down in the link):
n-somerset.gov.uk/my-services/parking-travel-roads/roads-streets/comment-traffic-regulation-order...
The traffic regulation order reference is: TR/DM/2024 and the deadline to send feedback to [email protected] is 5pm 25th October. Please do send your feedback about the scheme - I'll be sending my positive feedback!
Thank you to those of you that have raised this concern to us, but also to the academy councillors at Winterstoke Hundred who have also been raising concerns to the council as well.
3 CommentsComment on Facebook
Great work Ciarán I've sent positive feedback. Sorry to add more to your pile but could you possibly put some pressure on persimmon to replace the trees at the pinned location, they were destroyed years ago by a dangerous driver, and have never been replaced. I've been on to persimmon to do it probably 2 years ago now but was fobbed off. maps.app.goo.gl/H1NbpyqNLrciXE7b6
Good stuff. Hopefully more than 'toucan' cross the road at the same time. (Sorry not sorry!)
I also think the green pastures vets roundabout needs traffic lights on it.
The Runway speeding
In my opinion the Runway is one of the more dangerous roads in Weston-super-Mare and with a new school being built in 2026 it’s really important we secure improvements.
I’ve been collecting evidence of the level of speeding on this road (the answer is 1,600 speeding offences in 12 months) and I’ve submitted this to North Somerset Council as part of their review of the planning application for the new school and been clear I believe this evidences an unsafe road that will need improvements to ensure children aren’t at risk when they walk to the new school. The planning process hasn’t finished yet so we’ll have to wait for the outcome.
I’ve also been having bi-monthly meetings with the council about the progress of the school and been pressing for a traffic light across Winterstoke Hundred towards the Helicopter Museum – which is now happening, which is great news!
🚨Plans submitted for new school at Haywood Village🚨
Persimmon Homes have submitted plans for a new primary school at Haywood Village near the Runway.
The new school will be a 630 place primary with a further 103 nursery places. The school plans also include new community-use playing fields, MUGA and hall which is great for the area and much needed.
The plans are now live on the planning portal. The reference number is 23/P/1669/RM and you can find it here: planning.n-somerset.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=RYVF51LPIPF00&activeT...
The consultation is now open and if you have an opinion or feedback on the plans please add your comments on the portal, ahead of the planning application being considered.
Overall I'm very supportive of the plans for a new school as it's much needed for the area as the village continues to grow with thousands more homes to be built. I'm particularly pleased to see there will be an investment in community-use facilities as there's a huge demand for this.
I do have concerns about the safety of children in light of the school being next to a very busy road which currently has limited complete crossing points. I have, alongside our other local councillors Charlie Williams and Annabelle Chard, been raising these concerns with Persimmons and the council.
I'll be sharing this feedback as part of the planning application too as I think it's important that this is incorporated into the development of the site (whether as a planning requirement or as a commitment from the council who own the road).
Make sure to provide your feedback and I'll keep you in the loop when a decision is made.
Transparency - I don't sit as a member on the planning committee so won't be involved in the decision making of this should it come to committee (which is possible).
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I would ask, there is a well surfaced cycle path from the Helicopter museum all up to the roundabout by the Co Op, but only on one side of the road. Presume this will be addressed when building said school, as there are several crossings but when I first crossed this road with my bike, surprised to see just a grassy dip, no path? Schoolchildren cycling home will be better with lanes both sides?
In addition to the above I’ve also:
- Met the police regularly and outlined my concerns about speeding which has resulted in a regular speed van being present at both the East and West of the Runway
- I’ve met Persimmon Homes and they undertook a road safety audit as part of the plans for a new school at The Runway
- They have also committed to fix the traffic lights ASAP once they have the parts (this has now been done – see below)
- Met the council’s schools team to outline the concerns about road safety as part of the planning application for a new school
- Made representations to the Council’s highways team to consider a proper crossing point opposite Winterstoke Hundred, and at the Airport Roundabout (behind Budgens).
- Shared the petition with the council about a Zebra crossing behind the Co-op
It’s going to take time to see if we’ve been successful.
💬Update - trying to improve road safety at The Runway
It's been a couple weeks since the election and I thought it might be helpful to give you a bit of an update on the work I and your other Labour Councillors (Cllr Williams and Cllr Chard) have been doing to try and make the case for improvements to road safety at The Runway.
There is no outcome at the moment but we've been doing a lot of lobbying and exploration. We've:
☑ Submitted a Freedom of Information request to the police road safety team to get data on accident and speeding incidents on the runway. Once we have this we'll use it as part of our evidence
☑ Met the police and outlined our concerns and asked for their support in making the case
☑ We've met Persimmon Homes and pressed them to undertake a road safety audit as part of the plans for a new school at The Runway with the aim of making the case for a proper crossing point opposite Winterstoke Hundred. They've agreed to undertake a road safety audit ahead of the planning application. We'll wait and see the results of this
☑ Raised the concern about the traffic lights that are currently out of service with Persimmon Homes. They've confirmed this will be fixed within the next six months and they are waiting for the parts
☑ Met the council's schools team to outline the concerns about road safety ahead of a planning application coming forward for a new school. The council have confirmed that currently there are plans for a zebra crossing between Beaufighter Road and Winterstoke Hundred, but we have asked that the council also consider the Runway
☑ Made representations to the Council's highways team to consider a proper crossing point opposite Winterstoke Hundred, and at the Airport Roundabout (behind Budgens). Highways representations from councillors are considered twice a year and it'll be some time before I get feedback
☑ Shared the petition with the council about a Zebra crossing behind the Co-op. Although I've not publicly presented this at full council - which is the normal process - as I need the owner of the petition to come forward and confirm you're happy for me to do that. Please drop me an email at [email protected]
There's lots more for us to do and much of this is a waiting game but I wanted to highlight we have been working on it in the background.
When there's an update I'll share further details.
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Speed bumps along the runway ?
Traffic lights fixed – Haywood Village
Haywood Village, near the runway, have been without working traffic lights for over 12 months and when I met Persimmon Homes they committed to fix these once the parts were ordered and received.
It’s taken a while but there are now working traffic lights which is allowing Haywood Village residents to cross safely. There’s more work to do to improve the runway ahead of a new school being built.
Speed signs – slow progress
Where there have been particular hot spots I’ve worked with North Somerset Council to firstly get temporary speed signs put in place, and then use the data from these signs to help get more permanent solutions.
I’ve so far secured temporary speed signs for the Maltlands and Bransby Way. Although I haven’t always succeeded with getting permanent signs I have managed to secure a new 20mph road signage sign at the Maltlands.
Roundabout improvements
Those travelling to Haywood Village would have undoubtedly had near misses on the Runway roundabout due to the lack of road markings indicating which lane you need to be in to enter Haywood Village.
I’m delighted that after taking up this issue I helped to secure new road markings that now clearly indicate which lane you need to be in to head to Haywood Village – this intervention will undoubtedly reduce near misses.
I’m now focussed on trying to secure safety improvements to the Airport roundabout to allow those who cross the dual carriage way can do so safely – whether that’s a traffic light or other options. I’ve raised these with the council and I’m waiting for a response.
ROUNDABOUT AT HAYWOOD VILLAGE - IMPROVEMENTS TO MARKINGS
I know that there is occasionally confusion (and some near misses) when vehicles approach the roundabout near the Shell garage at A371 with the intention to enter Haywood Village. Debate always arises whether you should be in the left lane or the right lane, but ultimately the debate could be put to bed by improved road markings.
I have raised this with the council a few weeks ago and asked for improved markings (and to be fair I know several residents have done the same) and it’s looking like there might be some improvements coming.
I’ve been notified today that the council will be installing further carriageway markings which will include an arrow and lane designation text for the A371 on approach. I don’t quite have the full details yet about what this means in practice but it’s sounding promising.
I’ll try and get further details, however, I’m aware the works could be installed as early as next week depending on the weather.
Thanks to everyone that raised this to me, we’ll have to wait and see, but fingers crossed the improvements reduce confusion.
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