Opposition councillors 'call in' plan for flood-hit road

A scheme to improve a major Liverpool road which regularly floods is set to be scrutinised next week, after a group of opposition councillors 'called in' the plans amid concerns over disruption and parking issues exacerbated by the proposed works.

Opposition Liberal Democrats have called for further scrutiny of a decision by the council's Labour cabinet to award the contract for improvements to Queens Drive in Mossley Hill.

Lib Dem councillors describe the road improvement scheme as "contentious" in a part of Liverpool with "many traffic problems", with Mossley Hill councillor Rob McAllister-Bell stating the £2m project lacked clarity.

Liverpool City Council has been contacted for comment.

"Call-in" is a process by which councillors can ask a committee to look more closely at decisions by a council's cabinet, which have been made but are yet to be implemented.

A cabinet report said the scheme, for which the contract was awarded the week before Christmas, would focus on road maintenance - including improving the existing carriageway, resurfacing footways and replacing damaged kerbs and pedestrian guardrails.

Queens Drive dips under a railway bridge where, in 2023, local couple Philip and Elaine Marco died when their car was trapped in floodwater.

At an inquest into their deaths, a coroner said council officers had "failed to appreciate the risk to life" posed by the flooded road where the couple had died.

McAllister-Bell said a planned £30m United Utilities drain and flood mitigation project, which will also involve extensive roadworks, should be carried out at the same time as the other work to minimise disruption for residents.

He added: "These works need to be planned together, so roads are not repeatedly closed, dug up or diverted, causing prolonged and repeated disruption for residents and traffic.

"As local councillors, we are pushing for a joined-up approach where residents are fully aware of what is happening and when, across all works in the area, rather than facing a stop-start cycle of disruption."

There are also concerns among opposition councillors about continued parking issues in the area caused by the school run, and the subsequent traffic problems - which are likely to be exacerbated by any roadworks.

The call-in request, led by Lib Dem councillor Richard Kemp, said the cabinet report "raises the possibility of these works being part of a comprehensive parking scheme to alleviate severe problems with school parking".

"It fails to say that all the main roads in the area already have parking restrictions in place which are ignored by parents because they are not enforced either by the council or police, despite many requests over the years to do so."

In addition to the Queens Drive Highway Improvement Works, the contracted work will include implementation of off-site highway works associated with the S278 Liverpool College development (extension).

These works include carriageway resurfacing, verge protection and repair measures, traffic signal upgrade, installation of a new cyclists and pedestrian crossing facility, and changes to Traffic Regulation Orders (parking restriction) along Queens Drive and North Mossley Hill Road.

The concerns will be addressed when the committee meets on 6 January.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to [email protected]