The Mayor of Saffron Walden has written an open letter calling for Essex Highways to make a junction safer following multiple accidents.

Mayor Deryk Eke, writing on behalf of the town council, raised residents' concerns about the traffic lights at the junction of Debden Road and Borough Lane, which were discussed at the council's October meeting.

For more than 18 months, residents of both roads have contacted Essex Police, Essex Highways and Saffron Walden Town Council about the number of accidents on or near the junction.

According to the letter, Essex Highways' Casualty Reduction Scheme relies on data from police reports of personal injury collisions. 

For Highways to take action, they require three or more personal injury collisions, with one serious injury, within a 250-metre radius over a three-year period.

Essex Highways records show two slight collisions over three years, while Essex Police record three damage-only, and one non-serious personal injury.

However this does not match the experiences of residents, who have kept a record of incidents since October last year, including:

  • A resident requesting barriers and a 20mph speed limit following damage to his property from a road traffic accident in 2022.
  • A three-car collision in which a woman's leg was crushed and others suffered minor injuries.
  • A collision between a van and a car.
  • A collision damaging a resident's house.
  • A lorry colliding with and damaging traffic lights.
  • A collision between two cars with the fire brigade in attendance.
  • A fire starting after a car collided with a resident's parked car.
  • A crash causing serious injury to a 14-year-old girl.
  • Another accident with no details listed.

In his letter, Mayor Eke said Essex Police were sympathetic to residents' concerns but "hampered by insufficient data".

The letter said: "We cannot and should not wait for a major accident to occur for action to be taken.

"Whilst a Local Highway Panel request has been submitted (seeking traffic calming measures with signage, SLOW road markings and a box junction) no progress has been made on the scheme."

Measures suggested by the town council include adjusting the timing of the traffic lights so there is a two or three-second all-red phase, which should reduce the likelihood of an accident being caused by drivers jumping a red light.

They also suggested that a box junction would ensure drivers check the exit is clear before going across the junction.

The council urged residents to report any collisions that occur in their neighbourhood to the police.

A spokesperson for Essex Highways said: "Our Road Safety Engineering Team carries out reviews of collisions across the county to draw up potential road safety improvements and present them for funding.

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"Analysis for 2025/26 has just started, which will include a review of this junction.

"To maximise limited resources, we must consider locations with identified collision patterns provided to us by the police.

"We encourage residents to raise any safety concerns with their local Essex County Councillor, who can raise them for action as needed with the Local Highways Panel."