POWYS County Council has expressed its concern at Tesco’s decision to open
its new Newtown store before completing vital traffic signal work.
The company opened the Pool Road store on Monday without fully testing and synchronising new traffic lights triggering traffic congestionin the town.
Board Member for planning, Councillor Wynne Jones said: “The company was
granted planning permission for the store with a legal agreement that it should not open to the public without completing work to the satisfaction of the council.
“Regrettably the company took the decision to open the store before the traffic lights were fully synchronised and operational. The decision, which was exacerbated by increased traffic to the new store and driverinexperience at the new junction, created congestion through the town.
“Our engineers have been working with the company’s consultants and monitoring the situation. Welsh Assembly Government officials will have the final say on any solution. We have been told that it may take some time before the new signals are operating at their optimum capacity and the overall situation improves.
“Some changes have already been made to improve flow through the town on the trunk road but access onto the main road remains an issue for a number of motorists.
“We will continue to work with the company and their specialists in an effort to improve the situation, but the opening of the store will inevitably generate thousands of extra vehicle movements and there will be congestion at times.”
* TOWN HIT BY ROAD CHAOS - SEE TODAY'S COUNTY TIMES