THE improvement of a “notorious” crossroads in Wrexham is much needed, but more should be done, say local councillors.

The Crown crossroads junction, which will act as the main artery serving the 365 homes soon to be built on land nearby, are subject of a planning condition discharge submitted to Wrexham council on behalf of housing developers, with comments needed by the end of January.

The plans include the introduction of a 40m long left lane turn on the Straight Mile approach to the junction, the rationalisation of existing road markings and the installation of a Microprocessor Optimised Vehicle Actuation (MOVA) traffic light system.

At a meeting of Llay Community Council last week, Cllr Rob Walsh said the improvements were “much needed” and “welcomed” and that doing nothing was simply not an option.

He said: “It’s quite a controversial issue as plenty of people I’ve spoken to have their own views on how exactly they can be improved, however I think it’s vital that the community council put their opinion in on this matter.”

Cllr Dennis Owen doesn’t think the submitted plans will completely resolve the current problems and says the crossroads should be transformed from the existing three way way traffic lighting system, into a four way one.

He said: “It would make far more sense if it was four way, because it would be one lane moving at a time. I think the planners argument against that would be you would then have a backlog of vehicles coming in from the industrial estate, but they could just increase the time at that particular one, it’s not exactly rocket science.

“The filter lane is a good idea and makes sense and however you look at it, it needs to be improved.”

Despite his agreement that they are badly needed, Cllr Owen has strong reservations about the plans and said they do not take into consideration the additional traffic that will be using the crossroads when the 365 houses are completed and any changes that are made now could provide additional problems further down the line.

He added: “I think they’re trying to improve it as it stands now. I don’t think they’re looking three, four or five years down the line. We are going to have a lot more traffic then and we have already seen a recent increase since the new Police station opened.”

When work begins on the new housing development, Cllr Owen said any existing problems at the crossroads will be made even worse, with the location of building site entrance(s) and the potential closure of Gresford Road while new sewers are dug out being “a nightmare waiting to happen”.

He said: “It’s going to take a long time to build three hundred and sixty odd houses. It’s going to be dangerous for children, dangerous for pedestrians in general, and it’s going to cause chaos at the traffic lights.”

Those wishing to see the plans or make a comment can submit via the councils website or email planning@wrexham.gov.uk