FED-UP residents have hit out after a dumper truck working on a housing development in Webheath cut across a mini island and nearly caused an accident.
Local man Paul Long, who caught the incident on his dash cam, said: “This idiot clearly had no intention of giving way at the mini island and would have wiped us out had we been a few seconds earlier.”
The incident is the latest in a long list of complaints against contractors working on the 200 house development in Church Road, which is jointly owned by Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Homes.
Residents also say truck drivers have been breaking an agreement hammered out between county highways officers and developers to avoid parking in side streets while they wait for the site to open.
Dave Rose of the Webheath Forum, successor to the Webheath Action Group, said: “This is what is going on. The trucks aren’t supposed to be on the road until 9.15am to avoid the school run and so they park up in side roads, but the lanes are so narrow they create a hazard for other road users.
“We have also had numerous examples of them cutting the corner as they go down Heathfield Road and two ladies have lost control of their bikes as they went past.”
The Church Road development is a foretaste of what is to come for Webheath, with 3,400 new homes earmarked for the area over the next 15 years.
A meeting to discuss the implications of this has been arranged by county councillors Robin Lunn and Graham Vickery (both Lab, Redditch North) to be held after the county elections in May and with local borough councillors and the borough’s head of planning.
A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: “Health and safety is our top priority and we have spoken to the haulage company which was making a delivery to the development.
“The company has apologised and all drivers have been reminded of their obligations to drive safely at all times, and to do everything possible to minimise disruption to residents and other road users at all times.”
