Ludlow councillors are calling for residents and visitors not to leave their cars on Corve Street overnight on Saturday 25 February. This is the last day of a three Sunday operation to rebuild the failed road surface and sort out problems with drains and traffic lights.

Andy Boddington, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow North, explains: “Corve Street is being resurfaced over three Sundays. We have arranged this work for a time when it will be least disruptive to local businesses and the tourist trade. But we have a problem with people ignoring the no parking signs. They are preventing some areas of the road being repaired. A parked car stopped one area resurfaced last Sunday.

The owner could not be contacted because the car was not registered in Shropshire. This area will be patched on Sunday morning. That’s providing no one leaves their car in the space overnight Saturday.”

Tim Gill, Mayor of Ludlow, says: “The quality of the new road surface is really good. But we are likely to end up with a patchwork of repairs if people park their cars on Corve Street overnight this coming Saturday. We need to get this job done. The last chance to do that is this weekend. I don’t know why people are ignoring the no parking cones.”

Andy Boddington adds: “It has taken us a while to organise this work. It is one of the highest quality road repairs that we have seen in Ludlow. But the job could end up half done if people leave their cars overnight on Saturday. Highways engineers will be knocking on car owners’ front doors to ask them to move their cars when the owner lives locally. Last Saturday, a car from outside the county preventied resurfacing of an area of the road opposite Tesco.”

Corve Street is being resurfaced over three Sunday nights. The existing surface was laid by a previous council contractor and it failed immediately. Shropshire Council’s highways engineers have designed a very thorough repair that will last many years.

The existing surface is being milled down 50mm. A hard wearing tarmac surface will be laid. Drains are being flushed out to prevent flash flooding. Traffic light sensors are being replaced to improve safety. New white and yellow lines will be painted. Cycle boxes will be remarked at the traffic lights outside Tesco at the junction of Station Drive and Corve Street but they will no longer have red tarmac. That’s in line with current practice in conservation areas.