Angry villagers have hit out at a ‘ridiculous’ traffic plan, which they feel will transform their road into a ‘crazy golf course’ and create safety issues.

Homeowners in Congresbury’s narrow Wrington Lane fear difficulties getting in and out of their houses after Gladman Developments revealed plans to install a traffic island in a lay-by.

Gladman has already secured outline planning permission from North Somerset Council to build up to 50 homes off Wrington Lane, but in creating its final blueprints for the project it discovered its traffic plans would cause ‘conflict’ between pedestrians and motorists.

The developer has applied to the council to edit its proposal, but villagers – who have a legal right to use the lay-by for parking – believe accessing their homes will be difficult and dangerous if the scheme is approved.

The location of a pedestrian crossing has also been changed in the plans, but it would now sit directly opposite a driveway flanked by large hedges, prompting safety concerns – with people needing to move into the road to see if vehicles are approaching.

The application is under review by council highways officers, who will decide whether to accept the revised plan.

Clive Burlton, of Wrington Lane, said: “It’s a crazy scheme – it must have been dreamed up by someone who had just played crazy golf and hadn’t adjusted back to the real world.”

Congresbury Residents’ Action Group (CRAG) believes the scheme is ‘more suited to a crazy golf course than a public highway’, and chairman Mary Short told the Mercury ‘there are many reasons why this new scheme should be rejected’.

She said: “There is not enough room on the proposed pavement for parents with a pushchair or person with a motorised scooter.

“There is a pedestrian crossing from one side of the lane to the other where vision is restricted by a hedge – it proves they cannot have visited the site.

“There is not enough room in the carriageway for waste disposal lorries or emergency vehicles and they want to install more road signs when the Government’s design manual says there should be a reduction in street furniture.

“The whole idea of an island in a narrow lane is ridiculous. It is total nonsense and we trust the planning committee will reject it.”