PEOPLE living on a busy road in Thornbury say their safety has been overlooked by South Gloucestershire Council’s ‘lunatic’ funding system.

Residents of Park Road claim the authority’s area forums, which allocate capital funds for transport schemes, has ignored pleas for increased safety measures on one of Thornbury’s most dangerous roads and instead agreed to install a 20mph on a country lane outside a small village primary.

Tony Mitchell, who lives in Chatsworth Park but represents residents in the Deans Way neighbourhood watch area, said there was traffic chaos on the road every day with up to 2,000 pupils attending St Mary’s and Manorbrook primary schools, Castle School and sixth form and Sheiling School.

He said: “We have a huge number of double decker buses shipping people in and out and there must be over 2,000 pupils at the four schools.

“There is traffic chaos here every day and it is an accident waiting to happen.

“Given how bad Park Road is our scheme was not even put forward for an investigation by the council.”

Calls for a review of the traffic using Park Road were submitted to the Severn Vale Area Forum along with a scheme for a 20mph zone outside Oldbury-on-Severn Primary School. Last week the Gazette reported how staff and governors at the 58-pupil school were celebrating securing £22,000 from the forum which would allow the new measures to go ahead.

Said Mr Mitchell: “I cannot understand what is going on here but something stinks.

“It is great news for Oldbury with its 58 pupils but the council has completely turned a blind eye to the situation happening in Thornbury every day.

“It seems whoever shouts the loudest gets the money. I cannot believe it, I just have no faith in South Gloucestershire Council and the logic of their lunatic system.”

A spokesman for South Gloucestershire Council said: "The March meeting of the Severn Vale Area Forum considered a number of local transport schemes for possible investigation during the 2014/15 financial year. These included a proposal to investigate parking, school congestion and road layout issues around Dean Road, Castle Street, Park Road and Gloucester Road, Thornbury.

“The area forum is able to prioritise only a limited number of schemes for investigation during the financial year and after consideration members opted to delete this scheme from the investigation list on the grounds that traffic congestion in this area is already being addressed in liaison with local school transport operators.

“If residents wish to propose a 20mph zone around Park Road, Thornbury then this would have to be put forward at the next Severn Vale Area Forum for consideration as an investigation scheme.”