Property developer pays for £950,000 Dutch-style cycling roundabout to prioritise cyclists and improve safety... but furious locals still claim "nightmare" project is "wasting" taxes

In a familiar tale of local outrage at the construction of cycling infrastructure designed to make the roads safer, some residents in the West Sussex city of Chichester have spoken out and taken to social media to vent their fury at a "nightmare" new Dutch-style roundabout that's almost complete and is a "waste" of taxpayers' money — that despite the cycling roundabout being fully funded by a property developer as part of a nearby housing development.

The context to the situation is that a major new property development in Chichester requires a programme of local highway improvements to meet the demand that 750 new homes being built brings. Consequently, the developers responsible, Miller Homes and Vistry Southern, have taken on "all costs [believed to be £950,000] associated with the design and construction of the Dutch-style roundabout" and not one penny is coming from West Sussex County Council.

Ultimately the aim of this roundabout design, which has also been built in other parts of England in recent years, is to improve safety and prioritise those on foot, cycling or wheeling. Traffic is slowed via a 20mph speed limit and decreased lane widths, while there is a ring of unbroken cyclist and pedestrian priority around the exterior, requiring motorists to give way to more vulnerable road users.

As the project manager Andrea O'Shea this weekend told BBC Radio Sussex, "The concept comes from the Netherlands and has been brought across to try and improve cycle facilities in the UK. The completed scheme should actually not have a significant impact on traffic.

"We looked at a signalised crossroads but that didn't work with the traffic flow, so we developed the Dutch-style roundabout to address the concerns for traffic flows but also provide improvements for cyclists and pedestrians."

Despite the roundabout being funded by the council, plus the promises about increased safety and no "significant impact" on traffic, its construction nearing completion has been met with a barrage of resident complaints, mainly online where Facebook comments sections under council and local press reports are packed with complaints about it being "a waste of money" and even some claiming it will make things more dangerous.

One commenter suggested West Sussex County Council must have "a roundabout fetish", another adding: "What a terrible idea. Cost a fortune, will cause delays and accidents."

Someone else ranting on Facebook claimed the roundabout had already caused two collisions, before it was quickly pointed out to the furious commenter that the roundabout is not yet in operation, as designed, as it has not been finished. "Well you can hardly blame the new roundabout for accidents [collisions] when it isn't even completed yet," one reply came.

"I'm a cyclist. But I'm also a tax payer. How much has this project cost and what are the measurable benefits?" another outraged resident who apparently had not read who is funding the project asked. "That is at the heart of project management and must be available from the council."

It wasn't all anger and complaints, however. One local who said the other comments had "made me chuckle" set about addressing some of his fellow citizens' concerns.

"Let's have a good old moan about waste of public money, incompetent and corrupt local government officials who seem to be to blame for pretty much everything including all the traffic congestion in Chichester," he began, summing up the mood elsewhere in the comments.

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"The scheme is funded by developers of the Minerva Heights development so it's not costing the public purse, the scheme is not yet finished, so why not give it a chance? As for traffic congestion in Chichester and who's to blame… have you not yet fathomed that we have C21(21st century) car ownership and C19 (19th century) road layout… you've only got to see how many cars on the road, how many short trips are made by car, to understand that the ability of local authorities to solve traffic congestion is impossible. Anything that encourages other modes of travel such as walking, cycling etc. is surely to be welcomed..."

The works began back in June and were expected to take eight months to complete. The council and contractors released the video shared earlier in this article to educate people on how to use the roundabout, but they've also advised at the bare minimum: "Reduce your speed. Look carefully. Protect other road users."

Chichester is, of course, not the first community to see a Dutch-style roundabout built; and, of course, not the first community to have some outspoken locals objecting to it either.

Last month, in Hertfordshire, a section of outraged residents claimed a "first-of-its-kind" cycling roundabout would "undoubtedly disrupt our lives in significant ways" and "cause carnage", that despite the design being implemented to improve safety and reduce congestion.

Likewise, in Sheffield before Christmas, a new Dutch-style roundabout led to criticism by some, notably from some claiming it is "pandering to the few that don't even pay to be on the roads" and would amount to an "expensive disaster area".