Statement – Wrexham Road 20 December 2024

Cheshire West and Chester Council continues to extend their condolences to the family and friends of Evan Rothwell following the tragic incident on 12 November 2024.

We have been fully supporting and co-operating with Cheshire Police’s enquiries into the incident and will continue to do so, as well as with the Coroner’s enquiries.

Whilst it is important that we do not pre-empt the outcome of the ongoing enquiries referenced above, the Council has instructed an independent and comprehensive expert/technical review of the operations of the junction and safety measures close to the King’s School on Wrexham Road. This will commence in January, and will include consideration of the speed limit and the suitability of traffic calming measures. Any recommendations made by that technical review will be implemented where appropriate and with full regard to all users of the highway. This is action the Council is able to take now, in advance of the conclusion of the Police and / or Coroner’s enquiries.

In addition the following measures have been undertaken:

• At our request, the housing developer has repaired two street lights.
• We have increased the time interval between the red vehicle traffic light and pedestrian green man.

Over the forthcoming weeks, we shall:

• Clean the road signs in proximity to the junction
• Cut back overgrown hedges along the route to improve the pedestrian environment
• Install two new vehicle activated signs which are digital signs which will display a school warning sign advising drivers to slow down on Wrexham Road.
• Offer a programme of road safety education for all pupils via the school.
• Signpost our residents to the appropriate police reporting channels for moving traffic offences

We will work with the school and the police to improve the use of the junction, and we will continue to support the police and the Coroner with their ongoing enquiries.