Homeowners’ fury as council paints EIGHT ‘pointless’ 20mph signs beside potholes in East London cul-de-sac that cost £500 and left road ‘looking like a racetrack’

• Residents slammed Waltham Forest Council in east London for ‘waste of money’
• They blasted the councillors for prioritising the paint amid cracks and potholes
• But the council’s deputy leader said the drastic measures will help with safety

Homeowners have been left furious after a Labour-run local council blew nearly £500 on eight ‘pointless’ 20mph signs in a tiny cul-de-sac.

Residents slammed Waltham Forest Council in east London for the ‘waste of money’ that made the road look like a ‘racetrack’.

They blasted councillors for prioritising the paint job when there are cracks and potholes strewn across the street.

But the council’s deputy leader claimed the drastic measures will ‘make sure all road users can travel safely and confidently’.

Homeowners have been left furious after a Labour-run local council blew nearly £500 on eight ‘pointless’ 20mph signs in a tiny cul-de-sac

Residents slammed Waltham Forest Council in east London for the ‘waste of money’ that made the road look like a ‘racetrack’

Locals were shocked to find the eight 20mph signs had been splattered across Hurst Close overnight on Wednesday.

The tiny cul-de-sac, shaped like an arrow, has two upon entering the street and six more dotted around in each direction of the narrow circular.

Workers are believed to have taken around 45 minutes to spray the huge symbols and residents said they were not consulted.

Tracey Gould, who lives on the road, told the East London and West Essex Guardian the street now resembles a racetrack.

She said: ‘The size of these are ridiculous, they are the length of a car. They are hideous and have been plastered all over the road.”

She added: ‘If they had put one or two down that might have been acceptable but they certainly don’t have to be as huge.

‘It’s so over the top. It was a lush green close and now it looks like a racetrack.’

The council’s deputy leader claimed the drastic measures will ‘make sure all road users can travel safely and confidently’

They blasted councillors for prioritising the paint job when there are cracks and potholes strewn across the street

Others claimed the signs were unnecessary because it is hard to do more than 10mph on the narrow road.

Tracey Moore said: ‘Other than the fact you can’t do more than 10mph in the close, they have painted a total of eight of them in a tiny cul-de-sac. Money could be spent better elsewhere.’

Wright Occasion said: ‘Absolutely ridiculous waste of money. Get the potholes sorted.’ Andy Poullais said: ‘LBWF are so useless. They waste so much money.’

And Sam Burgess added: ‘You can’t do more than 10mph in there because it’s so tight.’

Others blasted the council for prioritising the symbols instead of fixing potholes and cracks across the road.

Alex Stichbury said: ‘Definitely a priority to paint the speed limit on the floor instead of fixing potholes.’

Elizabeth Tsakopiakos added: ‘The road surface is terrible and cracked which should have been resurfaced three years ago but was cancelled – yet they waste money on these pointless signs.’

Locals were shocked to find the eight 20mph signs had been splattered across Hurst Close overnight on Wednesday

Others claimed the signs were unnecessary because it is hard to do more than 10mph on the narrow road

Waltham Forest Council said the signs cost £60 each and claimed the size was matching government guidelines.

Deputy leader Cllr Clyde Loakes said: ‘Waltham Forest Council is coming to the end of its programme of works to ensure that all residential roads over which the council has jurisdiction have a maximum 20 mph speed limit.

‘These works in Chingford will help make sure that all road users can travel safely across the borough – not least pedestrians and cyclists, our most vulnerable of road users.

‘Waltham Forest Council is obligated to comply with strict regulations on the size, shape and spacing of traffic calming measures, based on DfT guidance and designs. Road marking roundels are least expensive option at £60 each.

‘Surface repairs are planned before April this year. We continue to make our neighbourhoods as safe as possible for the benefit of all residents and visitors.’ 

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