THE North Street car park in Wellington has been used as an “illegal rat-run” for many years, a councillor has claimed.

Cllr Keith Wheatley and Wellington Town Council’s facilities manager, Annette Kirk, have been looking at what can be done to improve safety for pedestrians and motorists at the car park.

Problems have occurred in the past because drivers cut through the car park from its entrance on Fore Street and drive down into North Street in order to avoid the traffic lights at the junction of Fore Street, North Street, South Street and High Street by the Iron Duke pub.

And Cllr Wheatley, speaking at the council’s economic development committee on September 11, said that although there were signs to say it was a “no through road” they were often ignored by motorists.

“It is a rat-run, but not a legal one,” he said.

But Cllr Mark Lithgow said: “It would be extremely difficult to prove that people were using it as a rat-run.”

Cllr Wheatley said talks with Somerset Council about improving the car park were an “ongoing situation.”

It was back in November last year when Cllr Wheatley told council colleagues that he was worried that sooner or later there could be a tragedy in the car park because of the lack of pedestrian walkways.

He said he was growing more and more concerned about safety at the car park because of the high level of people who used it as a walkway between North Street and Fore Street as well as those going to and from the football club.

At present motorists can drive in and out of the car park from North Street, but it is only one-way traffic into the car park from Fore Street.

Cllr Justin Cole, speaking in January, said that the need to improve safety at the car park was because people were using it as a short-cut between Fore Street and North Street.

“Why don’t they close off one end and turn it into a proper car park rather than allowing people to use it as a cut-through?” he said.