NORTH Somerset Council has confirmed it will install a zebra crossing on a busy Congresbury road, after years of debate between the authority and villagers.

Work to build the crossing on Brinsea Road, south of the junction with Mill Lane, will start soon, but the authority has said it does not have enough funding to install a signal-controlled crossing of the type called for by people who live in the village.

The debate over the crossing arose after planning permission for a 29-home development at Mill Lane was granted and it was agreed a crossing should be installed as part of the development’s section 106 agreement, which allocates money to the council to mitigate a development’s effect.

Congresbury Parish Council had asked for a signal-controlled crossing to be installed at the site, but the district authority has said the money received from the developer is not enough to cover this cost.

The council’s decision notice said: “The council intends to install a new zebra crossing on Brinsea Road to avoid danger to the public... making it safer for both local children and vulnerable road users.”

A council spokesman said: “The developer of a recently redeveloped site in Mill Lane was required, as a condition of planning consent, to provide funding for a new crossing at Brinsea Road to facilitate pedestrian access from the site to the school, shops and other facilities.

“In our view a zebra crossing is appropriate and we identified a viable site just to the south of the Mill Lane junction.

“When consulted, the parish council suggested a signal-controlled crossing (puffin crossing). The funding secured from the developer is sufficient for a zebra crossing, but not for a puffin crossing.

“A zebra crossing can be installed as soon as the necessary consultation and statutory processes are completed and the detailed design and works order prepared.

“However, we would not be able to progress the implementation of a signal-controlled crossing unless additional funding was identified.”