LIVES will continue to be ‘put at risk’ unless a barrier is installed by a busy Trowbridge road where people are constantly forced off the pavement, a local businessman claims.

She’s Coffee Lounge owner Steve Windsor has repeatedly asked Wiltshire Council to put an eight-metre-long barrier by the kerb outside his shop on Stallard Street, opposite the train station.

The 58-year-old says that he regularly sees people on mobility scooters, cyclists and pedestrians forced off the pavement and into the road, as they try to avoid each other as they come out of The Gateway complex or are walking along the pavement.

Now he has offered to build a barrier himself with wooden pallets, claiming the authority is doing ‘nothing’.

“Lives are being put at risk but I am getting nowhere with Wiltshire Council - so much for ‘everybody matters’,” he said.

“People come through The Gateway on bikes and others are walking along the pavements. You can’t see round the corner, and to avoid each other, they are forced out into the road. However, a barrier would solve this.

“Last week, four young adults were knocked off their bikes by a black BMW and this week a woman who uses a walking aid slipped into the road, avoiding a person on a mobility scooter. All of this can be seen on the CCTV across the road.

“It’s the council’s responsibility to ensure the general public are safe while walking about the streets of Trowbridge. This would cost £500 to do, no problem.”

Mr Windsor said Wiltshire Council told him they did not want a kerbside barrier but could look into putting on in line with his shop by The Gateway entrance.

“Barriers on the landlord’s land will not prevent anyone from falling into the road. If anything it adds a distraction to anybody on their bikes or wheelchair. They have to go around, through the obstacles or wait for the barrier to go up,” he said.

“I want to see a copy of the risk assessment because since this place has filled up with more shops, this problem has worsened.

“A barrier would stop cars turning in or dropping off deliveries, which could harm my business, but lives are more important.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “We understand people’s concerns and the Community Area Transport Group carefully considered which would prove the safer option for everyone.

"A two-way barrier with sufficient space for mobility scooters on the private land is a sensible option, as it slows any cyclists down before they come out onto Stallard Street pavement, avoiding collision with pedestrians.

"A barrier on the actual kerb at Stallard Street would not avoid this.

“We are going to work closely with the owners of the site to address the problem including notices encouraging cyclists to dismount.”