RESIDENTS say thousands of pounds has been wasted by Kirklees officials on a traffic island which was removed just a week after it was built.
Council workers built a pedestrian refuge at the bottom of Soothill Lane in Batley – much to the delight of nearby residents and commuters who use the busy road close to the railway station.
Details obtained from a Freedom of Information request show it cost £6,500 to build, and another £1,500 was spent on removing it just days later.
It is believed a nearby business complained that the traffic island would hinder access for large commercial vehicles.
Conservative election candidate for Batley West, Paul Young, said: “As a candidate it annoys me when I see my money being spent like this.
“I’ve been trying to get a big screen put up for the England game but I’ve been told they have no money, yet they can spend £8,000 on a traffic island for a week.
“If you start doing these kinds of things you’ve got to put an assessment in, rather than just get there, build something and then go ‘oh no that doesn’t fit’.
“You’d like to think for £8,000 there’d been some consultancy work done and some assessments.
“I don’t know how it would’ve cost £8,000 in the first place.
“It’s been done and then quickly hoofed away a week later, so it’s an ill thought-out piece of work.”
Kirklees Council did not respond to our requests for a comment.
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