£130,000 crossing shambleshas couple seeing red

Angela and Robin Wray have fought a battle with Kirklees Council after the local authority decided to build the puffin crossing outside their house.

The Wrays, of Holmfirth, near Huddersfield, were granted permission to build a drive in June 2007 but were shocked to discover the authority was planning to build the crossing just four months later.

They have since embarked on a three-year battle which has seen the authority ban them from using the drive.

Now, while the council debates whether to switch the crossing on, Mrs Wray says it should cut its losses – despite having already spent 130,000 on the traffic measure – because no price can be put on safety.

Mrs Wray said: "The council clearly agree that it would be dangerous to have the puffin crossing active where it is now, otherwise they wouldn't have put in the stopping-up order against us using our drive.

"Our anxiety is that we might cause any injuries to pedestrians. The people using that crossing would be put at risk. We

don't want to be in a position where we could cause harm to someone."

Following the revelation that Kirklees Council has already spent 130,000 installing the puffin crossing, and that it would cost a further 30,000 to remove it, Mrs Wray said the authority should think of the risks, not the cost.

She said: "Safety doesn't have a cost on it. They have had opportunities to cancel the crossing or choose a different site before they spent all of that money. They should put the crossing somewhere it is safe, even if it does cost 30,000 extra."

The Wrays have won a decision to use their drive but the council is still deciding whether to switch the lights on.

Mrs Wray, a mother-of-three, estimates she and her husband had spent four to five thousand pounds in legal fees as they fought against the council's plans, although a judgment has ruled they should receive some compensation .

Before the construction of their drive, Mr and Mrs Wray could park on the street outside their house, although zig zags that have been painted since the crossing have now ruled that out.

In September 2009 Kirklees issued an order to try to prevent the Wrays using their own drive but the couple appealed and a public inquiry last month ruled they could continue to use it.

Mrs Wray said: "I don't know why they have built the crossing before getting the required stopping-up order. To risk such a huge amount of money must be sheer madness. It's a mess.

"We are just baffled as to why they would risk that amount of money."

Kirklees deputy leader Coun Ken Smith described the situation as a "dog's breakfast" at a cabinet meeting and Coun David Sheard said the decision to give the Wrays planning permission had been a mistake.

Coun Sheard, cabinet member for highways, said: "When the request for planning permission came in, no one at Highways pointed out that a crossing was planned there.

"The Wrays would probably not have got the decision if this mistake had not been made."

The council now faces the difficult choice of removing the crossing at the cost of 30,000 or trying to switch the lights on for 3,000, which the Wrays deemed "untenable".

Coun Nigel Patrick said: "The crossing has cost a lot of money and if it was dismantled now that money would have been wasted."

A final decision will now be delegated to the council's area committee for the Holme Valley.

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