Angry Colnbrook residents unleash fury over Brands Hill road works

Colnbrook locals lashed out at the council, saying since those works in Brands Hill started, it has caused accidents, increased their journey time to get into the village, and has made air pollution worst.

The works along London Road, near Sutton Lane, have been ongoing since 2020 and include road layout changes as well as adding in a pedestrian crossing and traffic signals. The works have been severely delayed as it was meant to be completed in April.

During the works, a temporary roundabout next to the Sutton Lane junction was placed and the road is plagued with a lot of cones.

The road works have been labelled "dangerous" (Image: Madhu Bedi)

The council updated the scheme, saying that it has extended the central island near the BP petrol station to prevent people from U-turning or going into the station to stop a “history of incidents”. It also put in measures to stop people from turning right out of Brands Road.

But residents have had enough and demanded answers from the council. One Brands Road resident said he now has to turn left onto London Road and turn around the M4 roundabout just to head to his workplace in Colnbrook, adding up to 12 minutes to his journey time just to get back to the Brands Road junction.

READ MORE: Brands Hill roadworks: Safety concerns raised over temporary roundabout

Highway officer Rudo Beremauro said: “We can’t change the [Brands Road] junction at all because there’s quite a lot of work involved in changing the junction set up. So, we can’t go back unless something major comes along like a major development.”

Clive Cripps, who lived in Colnbrook for 22 years, said extending the central island “doesn’t work” as he’s seen motorists U-turning or going into the BP station.

The central island has been extended to stop people U-turning or accessing the BP service station (Image: Google Maps)

He said: “That’s the third or fourth time in the last five years that the layout of that road has been changed and every time it is changed or altered, the situation hasn’t improved, it’s got a lot worst.

“[The council] says it wants to prevent air pollution, but it’s creating pollution by mucking about with that road, which was perfectly fine as it was, and causing chaos and confusion.”

He added: “[The temporary roundabout] is dangerous. I’ve had three close calls on that roundabout because people fail to realise it’s a roundabout – and one bloke turned round and had a right go at me.”

View of the road works from Brands Road (Image: Google Maps)

Rami, who lives on Brands Road, said the cones are “excessive” and “obstructive, which is causing collisions. He also said the road works are adding an extra two miles to his journey, creating more air pollution in the area.

Residents, 150 of which signed a petition expressing their anger on the road works, also slammed the council for not consulting them on the changes. Some Brands Road homeowners are even considering legal action, claiming the works have “devalued” their properties by up to £45,000.

“[The council is] already bankrupt,” Rami said.

Ms Beremauro said the council has consulted residents in 2019 before the scheme was implemented and carried out risk assessments to see the potential dangers.

READ MORE: Slough Council makes changes to 'nightmare' Colnbrook roundabout

Before the island extension and the right turn from Brands Road, the only changes made were the drainage, the parking on the right side, and the removal of a lane that was going to be next to the scrapped park-and-ride scheme.

But Ms Beremauro said those were not “major changes” and did not require another consultation, she told residents at a packed Colnbrook Community Action meeting.

She also said they can’t “pause” the work now as most of it is completed and are needing to add the traffic signals in

Highway bosses at the council will be invited to answer further questions at another meeting on Thursday, October 20. The meeting will take place at the church in Vicarage Way at 5pm.