A GREEN Party politician who represents people in Bilford Road has joined the calls for a highways re-think – saying he fears “intolerable” jams.

Councillor Neil Laurenson is backing Worcester City Council’s Labour leadership over a request to review the road access for the £10 million swimming pool project.

But he has also revealed how he asked highways chiefs at County Hall for a filter lane to the tip way back in 2012, only to be rebuffed.

As the Worcester News revealed last week, Labour Councillor Jabba Riaz says the bus stop and pedestrian refuge will spark more hold-ups as drivers try to get past.

The pool development, part of Perdiswell Leisure Centre, is due to open in February next year and sits opposite the tip, otherwise known as the household recycling centre.

Councillor Laurenson said: “He’s absolutely spot on, it doesn’t matter who says this, it needs to be said.

“I’ve had a fair few emails from residents who have all written to me in the last couple of weeks saying exactly the same thing - they all say the pedestrian refuge will cause tailbacks.

“Queueing to try and get into the tip has always been an issue down Bilford Road but the refuge means cars can’t get past so easily.

“If it isn’t changed I can see it being intolerable, it’ll cause a log-jam - unless they are going to relocate that tip to the old park and ride it needs a slip lane.”

He also told the Worcester News his plea to the county council back in 2012 got short shrift at the time, from then-Conservative cabinet member for highways Councillor John Smith.

“It was coming up as an issue so much on the doorstep, so I wrote to John Smith and they said ‘it’s not happening’,” he said.

“And that was four years ago. I know these things are done with the best intentions but if you’ve got a problem, you can either change it before it’s too late or let people get irate.”

“I say ‘listen to what Jabba is saying’.”

The county council has insisted that the pool project has been “carefully assessed” and is “not considered to offer any significant disruption to traffic flow”.

Councillor Marcus Hart, the current cabinet member for highways, said the plans have gone through a detailed traffic analysis and safety audits without any problems.

He added: “There was no identified conflict with the recycling centre to warrant any alteration of that access as part of the application - no such alteration is being promoted at this time.”

The swimming pool is a city council-led project but Worcestershire County Council is the highways authority.