COUNCILLORS have launched their own investigation over Worcester's Ketch island - with those responsible asked to appear in public to be questioned over it.

A watchdog-style panel at Worcestershire County Council wants to get to the bottom of the controversial new-look £8 million island after labelling it "a significant concern".

The Q&A, which is expected to take place on Wednesday, June 24, comes as:

  • Conservative Councillor Ken Pollock has claimed poor driving could be down to some of the Ketch's problems, saying motorists on the continent tend to be "more civilised"
  • A fellow Tory, Councillor Liz Eyre, says the rise of social media sites like Facebook has given people a platform to sound off, but has admitted the island seems to have "underlying issues"
  • Jon Fraser, the public face of highways in Worcestershire, is said to be "so disappointed" with the Ketch saga and deeply unhappy that the public feel so dissatisfied with it

The investigation will be led by a scrutiny panel responsible for examining issues around the county's economy and environment.

It is entirely separate to the independent safety audit, which is being handled by a third party and does not involve any councillors.

The scrutiny panel has accepted the request to look into the roundabout after Councillor Tom Wells raised it in a meeting at County Hall, where he said his video showing the driver's concerns had "gone viral" and caused "reputational damage" to the highways department.

"You've got two lanes going into one and the only place to go is the other side of the road, causing a head-on accident," he said.

"We ought to be representing these concerns and investigating what has happened here."

Speaking during a session of the overview and scrutiny performance board, he added: "Jon Fraser has said to me, he's so disappointed - he feels, clearly that things have gone wrong, that this was done by third party organisations and companies, and that it's massively disappointing with the amount of money we've thrown at this, that the public are so utterly disappointed."

Councillor Pollock said the nation has a habit of "not being able to get two lanes to filter into one effectively", saying not enough drivers allow cars to get in alongside them.

He said the practise of filtering is "not encouraged by road signs", adding: "It should be perfectly possible to filter left, right, left, right".

Councillor Eyre said: "Facebook was not around when they made a small road between Worcester and Evesham which is now the A44 - if you had Facebook then you'd have had far more people say 'the designs are wrong', that it couldn't work, it's dangerous, the right turn into Fladbury is a nightmare, and all those things.

"People don't like change and take a long time to get used to change, but I understand there are underlying issues as well."

The board agreed to have the investigation, with Councillor Richard Udall calling it a "significant local concern".

Two sections of the island remain coned off due to public concerns, with the results of an independent safety audit expected by the end of this week.

The right hand merger lane where drivers exit for Carrington Bridge remains coned off, as does the right hand approach from Norton roundabout.