A council row has erupted over street markings intended to slow traffic, instead looking like “giant Wotsits”.
The dispute broke out in Birkenhead after the local authority installed the bright orange and yellow road decorations, which locals say bear an uncanny resemblance to oversized cheese-flavoured snacks.
The vivid markings were applied to Grange Road West in conjunction with a provisional single-direction traffic scheme and additional speed reduction initiatives implemented by Wirral Council.
The striking pattern extends across much of the footpath and flows onto the carriageway in a curved formation, complemented by orange containers of different dimensions positioned above the painted surface.
Local resident Joy Longshaw expressed concerns about the scheme’s impact on accessibility.
She told the BBC: “I don’t mind a bit of psychedelia, but this is a bit much.”
She warned that individuals with colour blindness or visual impairments could struggle to navigate the area safely, describing the project as “a mess” despite its good intentions.
Ms Longshaw compared the artwork to famous painters, suggesting it resembled “a bit of Dali, perhaps”.
The striking pattern extends across much of the footpath and flows onto the carriageway in a curved formation
|
She added: “Pollock and Dali mixed together. Pollock and Dali had a child and this is kind of what it looks like!”
A patron at the Charing Cross Pub remarked that the markings’ colour and form “reminds me of giant Wotsits”.
Business proprietors along the street have voiced dissatisfaction about insufficient involvement in the planning process.
Nigel Nieto, proprietor of Grange West Lighting, claimed that seating was being fitted contrary to traders’ preferences.
The vivid markings were applied to Grange Road West
|
He expressed worry that the benches would attract people who would “sit and drink their beer and their wine in the middle of the road”.
The lighting shop owner criticised the scheme’s aesthetic, he said: “The plant pots will have graffiti put on them. They’ll have the soil taken out and thrown on the road. The plants will be taken out.”
Mike Atherton from the Sup Store described the project to the Local Democracy Reporting Service as “ridiculous”, adding: “I have never seen anything like it.”
The authority has characterised the project as a pilot for a low-traffic neighbourhood arrangement, which remains unfinished at present.
Locals say they bear an uncanny resemblance to oversized cheese-flavoured snacks
|
GETTY
A spokesman for Wirral Council explained that the “coloured surfacing design represents an eye-catching but straightforward way of changing the dynamics of the street without the need for major civil work”.
The initiative forms part of a comprehensive redevelopment programme for Birkenhead, approved by the council in 2023.
It aims to convert the road from a congested, vehicle-dominated route into a more appealing shopping and leisure destination.
The council confirmed that locals and traders would have the opportunity to “provide feedback on its effectiveness during the first six months of operation”.