Calls for safety improvements on road near Cheltenham where four died ‘haven’t been listened to’

Watch our report from Caron Bell


People living close to a road where four men died at the weekend say repeated calls for a reduced speed limit and safety improvements have been ignored.

Four men died on the A436 after their car left the road and hit a tree in Ullenwood, around four miles from Cheltenham, in the early hours of Sunday 21 July.

Councillor Paul Hodgkinson, who represents the area on Gloucestershire County Council, said he has also been backing the campaign for improvements for several years.

He also said traffic has increased significantly because of ongoing roadworks.

“There's huge amounts of traffic on this road and now there's a lot of work being done on the missing Link project on the A417 some traffic is being displaced here as well," he said.

“Over the years what I've called for, and residents and the local parish council, is a drop in the speed limit and some changes to the road layout to make it safer.

“Unfortunately, the speed limit is still the same and a lot of those requests that we've made haven't been heard yet."

Flowers have been left at the scene

The speed limit on the road is currently 50mph.

Cllr Hodgkinson said he’d like to see that lowered: “We would like to see a drop in the speed limit to 40mph.

“We would also like to see some changes to some of the junctions so that there's better visibility for cars exiting and entering some of those junctions.”

Ann Townsend, 81, has lived on the road in Ullenwood all her life. She said: “We're very worried about safety, especially when I had my grandchildren here when they were small.

“The road needs straightening because this is an awfully bad bend. We've seen lots of accidents on this road and many times we've had to mend fences because of the accidents, and for someone to lose their life like that, it's upsetting.”

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: “We’re saddened to hear about the tragic accident. Our thoughts go out to the families and friends of those lost.

"It would be wrong to jump to any conclusions during an ongoing investigation. As with any incident of this kind we will conduct a review along with other agencies and take the necessary action where needed.”