'Snubbed' by Tories over road repairs 'Because I was Lib-Dem councillor'

A FURIOUS resident who spoke out over roadworks disrupting her neighbours' lives has accused the Royal Borough's ruling Conservatives of dismissing her complaints out of hand - because she

used to be a Liberal Democrat councillor.

Lee Hibbard lives in Winkfield Road, Windsor - one of the town's most congested areas - and currently the site of roadworks designed to ease the problem.

At a meeting of Windsor Town Forum on Thursday, February 5, she said some householders were finding it a daily struggle to get in and out of their homes because of the work.

The former councillor said they were angry that they only received 48 hours notice when it was about to start.

However Ms Hibbard faced a sharp put down from Cllr Phillip Bicknell (Con, Park) who said: "If we don't do this work now the area will grind to a halt.

"Why are you making this political?"

After the meeting, a livid Ms Hibbard said: "It is they who made it political. I was speaking solely as one of the residents affected by this work. It had nothing to do with me once being a councillor.

"My partner has been more involved than me but he had to work on the day of the meeting, so I agreed to raise the issue."

Cllr Tom Bursnall (Con, Clewer East) who chaired the forum, unseated Ms Hibbard at the last election. He said that there had been massive support for the roadworks plan when he canvassed the area in the lead up to polling day.

Cllr Bursnall insisted that it was not practical to consult residents on every detail of the plan weeks before work started, as it needed to be completed before Legoland reopened and

traffic increased.

The Conservatives plan to replace the mini-roundabout at the Clewer Hill Road/Winkfield Road junction with traffic signals in a bid to stop the jams that regularly tail back along Imperial Road as far as Goslar Way.