With just a few days left to have your say, residents are being urged to comment on plans to remove Walton roundabout’s pedestrian subway and replace it with surface-level traffic light crossings, as part of a wider housing consultation that closes this Wednesday, 16th July 2025.
Developers Proposed Walton Roundabout Changes
PLEASE NOTE: This isn’t a planning application at this stage – it’s a developer consultation so no plans have been finalised for the housing estate proposals or changes to the Walton roundabout.
The proposals are included in Bloor Homes’ consultation for a 515-home development and new first school on farmland off Eccleshall Road. While a planning application has not yet been submitted, the plans feature a complete redesign of the roundabout, one of the busiest junctions in Stone.
Flood-prone subway to be removed
The current underpass, which runs beneath the A34 connecting the petrol station and shops, is often flooded and seen by many residents as uninviting.
Under the new plans, it would be filled in and replaced with:
Traffic signal-controlled pedestrian crossings on three arms of the roundabout
At-surface, accessible routes with improved safety and visibility
Better access for wheelchairs, prams, and those with mobility needs
The changes aim to address long-standing concerns from pedestrians who feel the subway is poorly maintained and difficult to use.
New layout to tackle future congestion
The wider roundabout redesign includes:
Widened approach lanes on all sides
Dedicated turning lanes to ease queuing and improve flow
A full reworking of road markings and roundabout geometry
A shared-use cycle and footpath is also proposed along Eccleshall Road, connecting the site to existing town infrastructure near Longhope Drive.
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The roundabout is forecast to operate over capacity by 2031, even without any new housing, according to technical documents submitted as part of the consultation.
“The enhancements go beyond simply mitigating the impact of the proposed development – they provide a solution that significantly reduces queues and delays across the junction,” the developer stated.
Google Maps Image of Walton Roundabout
Part of a wider development – and time is short
The changes are part of Bloor Homes’ early-stage plans for land west of Stone, which include:
Up to 515 new homes
A first school
Affordable and specialist older people’s housing
Green space, biodiversity improvements and new walking routes
The consultation runs until midnight on Wednesday 16th July 2025, and residents are encouraged to review the roundabout proposals and submit comments via: www.bloorhomesstone.com
Local MP Sir Gavin Williamson has launched a community survey to gather feedback from constituents on all three of the proposed housing developments in Walton.
The responses will help inform any future representations made to the Secretary of State. The survey is available online at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/53NMZQC
Appreciate all these comments, however I’m sure the council are trying to get the builder to pay for an essential junction upgrade.Anyone that uses that roundabout faces vehicles that don’t slow down, pedestrians that won’t use the subway, poor visibility, and so much wrong that should be sorted without any extra housing.
P S the subway is NOT persistently flooded. i use the subway most days of the week and have done since the subway was built back in 1957 there are the odd days when there is a small flood but its soon sorted out and what small floods there are is due to a lack of maintenance from the county council
the subway opened in 1957. 68 years ago. how many people have been injured or killed crossing the A34 using the subway ?? it would be a VERY different store with a surface crossing
We have had more than enough of new developments up the Eccleshall Rd at Walton, The subway needs to be kept it’s the safest way to cross the a34 and yes better drainage and lighting would be good. We are losing our lovely stone town the infrastructure just can’t cope anymore. Born and bred in stone becoming totally unrecognisable with all this developments .
Look at diverting traffic at the back of the Pirehill houses and bungalows, not through the estates so the traffic from these new houses can join the A34 from the tip industrial estate roundabout and to the left side to join A34 at Meaford. Eccleshall Road is so busy with traffic already. Find a way of putting a ramped bridge over the A34, traffic lights will cause further delays in increased traffic on Eccleshall Road. Its not just an additional school for a total of 880 houses needed, how will our struggling medical services be able to assist all of these families?
I fail to see how closing off the Subway on Walton Roundabout and replacing it with traffic lights is going to improve the traffic chaos we already have. This appears to be a “condition” being used by the Planners to pave the way for Planning Application approval. The 3 housing proposals for Walton will be ongoing over a number of years, and will be an absolute nightmare for everyone living in Stone, using the roads, Doctors surgeries and Dentists , who are already working under pressure. One further First School isn’t going to make much of a difference, without other infrastructure being put in place.
The proposal to close the Walton roundabout underpass and replace with pedestrian crossings on the A34 is a recipe for accidents. There are already two pedestrian crossing on the A34 between Walton roundabout and the industrial estate entrance. All to frequently cars race along the A34 in a 40mph zone often to try beat the lights changing or purely ignoring them, putting pedestrians at risk. Another crossing just gives the speeders another opportunity to have an accident in which the pedestrian will come off worse. Better to improve the underpass flood protection measures.
The introduction of traffic signal controlled pedestrian crossings on 3 arms of a very busy roundabout sounds like an ill-thought out proposal, and a recipe for traffic chaos particularly at peak times.
Has the developer considered the potential impact of delaying emergency vehicles – this road is the main route for emergency ambulances to access Stafford and Royal Stoke hospitals. Any delay to their journeys caused by the interruption of traffic flow could have potentially catastrophic consequences.
A statement has been made by the developer that the subway is poorly maintained and difficult to use (no evidence offered to support such a sweeping claim). An obvious solution would be to use the considerable funding that would be required in order to change the roundabout layout in order to improve drainage, lighting and the overall effect of the subway.
The re-design is stated to improve traffic flow, but this will be impossible with the introduction of pedestrian lights on 3 arms of the approach roads. The opposite is more likely, traffic flows will slow and congestion increase. Has any detailed traffic modelling been carried out to support the design intent, such as expected number of vehicles / hour, number of pedestrian crossings likely on each arm of the proposed new traffic flow?
The A34 through Stone receives freight and vehicle traffic from the M6 when it is closed for accidents and repair. Slowing this additional traffic burden will adversely impact them, and cause even more delays for local road users.
A full reworking of road markings and roundabout geometry will bring about months of driver misery, as experienced very recently during the roundabout upgrading works when journeys of 1 mile were taking over half an hour to complete.
The environmental impact in respect of air quality should also be considered, due to the increase in stationary traffic that this proposal would bring about, particularly for pedestrians and those living adjacent to the A34 or using local facilities.
Closing the underpass would definitely worsen traffic flow because replacement traffic lights would halt the traffic and it would back up. The underpass works and is safe for pedestrians, in particular school children. Getting out of Pirehill Lane onto Eccleshall Road can be really difficult even without the new developments. Has anyone considered installing a mini roundabout to address this where Pirehill Lane joins?
This is not a proposal for a better road system in stone it’s all connected to the proposed building of nearly a thousand new houses in and around stone.
It’s a nightmare getting off the pirehill estate now and extra houses will only make it worse.
I agree with the comments made. As a Walton resident, I know that the underpass is a workable thoroughfare which rarely floods. Lights at Walton roundabout will hinder already poor traffic flow and as for 500+ new houses, no thank you! Stafford and Stoke hospitals are both stretched to capacity, as are the doctors and dentists in Stone. I do not support any further developments.
The A34 northbound gets priority over traffic from Walton so a pedestrian controlled crossing on the north side will only block access to the roundabout. Consider this when the M6 is blocked (this happens far more times than the subway flooding). Also I see no provision for the lane transfer for the very large transporters, travelling northwards, that need to pass under the Filleybrooks railway bridge.
Keep the subway. It’s far saver than pedestrian crossings.
Getting the best outcomes for our future Stone road arteries is
vital and requires the investment of our very best planning brains.
The plans submitted by Bloor Homes etc suggest one solution but its obvious flaws and disadvantages makes me think that housebuilders are not the best people to go for advice about how we go about our daily lives.
We all live in houses that were at once grassed and forested but increasingly need to address both their provision and location.
Removing the underpass and adding traffic lights will be detrimental to pedestrian safety. Adding in a pedestrian crossing will delay traffic flow even further. The proposed work, ( if beaconside is an example of speed) will take years and cause grid lock in the town. Walton is already congested in the mornings and more housing will mean traffic will be at a stand still
Walton subway or underpass, is fully accessible as it is. Very occasionally it will flood. So let’s manage that root cause and not build something else. It’s fully accessible for wheels, legs, paws and wings. Yes it could do with brightening up… get us local artists some paints and brushes and we’ll have a relaxing canal scene in no time.
I’m concerned this development is smoke and mirrors to build more homes on green land that we do not have the infrastructure to support. Redevelopment the brownfield sites first.
A survey capturing how many people cross the roads is needed, just to prove it is not needed,I have seen the odd one or two crossing. Traffic lights will be a complete nightmare, on what is already a busy road. I have know the underpass to flood twice. As for upgrading the markings on the highway, they are already there, on the whole the roundabout flows well apart from
peak times just as many major roads do. Manor estate is already a rat run.
Do we need chaos on the roundabout for months and months just so planning permission might be given.
Green belt is green belt, why not try and locate brown belt sites.
Where will this school go??
GP’s are struggling now.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
#SirGavinWilliamson
We have lived in Walton for over 42 years. We have lived with hold ups from our Lane because of the M6 being closed and traffic sent along The A34. Then they started building on Green Land and for every 100 houses builders are twice or more cars to add to the queues.
We have had to protest about builders wanting to go build on green land adjacent and within our streets. The last few years have been a total nightmare with all the roadblocks even an 8-10 mile diversion to go North or South for weeks.
The underpass just needs bringing up to date and possibly as in Jersey they have a rule that people use roundabouts allowing alternate traffic right of way..then you don’t get road rage, because cars force their way in, and traffic then moves smoothly!
A pedestrian overpass would be better than traffic lights . But I lived at Walton most of my life and I think I only had to cross over the road due to flooding may be 3 times in 50 years . Traffic flows quite well until you get some idiot who cannot get straight across goes part way and blocks the whole road as I have seen recently when road works were holding things up
I use Walton Roundabout as a driver of a car, as a cyclist and as a pedestrian. Why are we fixing something which is not broken? Waste of money and just going cause more issues in my opinion.
Agree with most comments to date. Improving Walton roundabout will just increase existing problems around the one way system eg Morrisons & splitter island. Further out it will add to the current load on over-stretched, poorly performing local hospitals. Build a Stone bypass, a new hospital & pay doctors to staff it & I may change my mind
I doubt that traffic light pedestrian crossings would do anything to improve what is already a vital junction to access the town centre of Stone. By all means give the underpass a good fix but we all know how long contractors take to finish junctions in Stafford. Less green space, More houses, another first school when funding for running schools is already drastically reduced to undermine the schools we already have? Not feasible, affordable or desirable.
This is a ploy by developers to ease the way for planning permission. We are not just talking about the bloor development but two others are in the pipeline. One opposite the bloor site and another off Marlborough Road. Almost 1000 new homes proposed. All new developments will have to use the Eccleshall Road. There is no other option. Manor Rise and that estate will become a relief road for many as it did during the last almost never ending road works .
Pathetic idea to install pedestrian crossing at such a major junction!! Keep kids and cars completely separate.
If it was important to keep them separate between Aston & Walton Islands with a footbridge why mix pedestrians with traffic coming from 4 directions?. If it goes ahead, avoid Stone between 0800 & 1000 and 1530 & 1800 every wèekday
The removal of the subway and putting traffic lights in will be a recipe for disaster.. the traffic it will generate and the impatience of drivers, there will be accidents and in an area full of families with children, the risk cannot be taken…
I was personally ran over on the A34 because a van ran a red light on the pedestrian crossing by aldi.. a high speed road and pedestrians can’t mix with the amount of people who run red lights. I know I personally would find it near impossible to cross by the roundabout without the subway, especially at busy times. The safest thing to do is to keep the pedestrians and traffic separate and ensure the subway has appropriate upkeep ( however I’ve only known it flood twice in the last few years)
No to any more houses in Stone area it’s all down to money at the end of the day farmers or council selling off land ,the town and it still is a town cannot cope with any more people.It all comes to a head at Walton roundabout if you need to go to Stoke, Stafford ,Longton or Meir and putting pedestrian crossings in just doesn’t cut it.Also the usual spiel of every house building company,green spaces, affordable housing, new school , doctors surgery laughable that’s what they all say.
Traffic lights on the walton roundabout will cause more chaos and worsen the traffic, its position will make it a hazard to pedestrians . More houses is not what stone needs the infrastructure is already under too much pressure . Building 1 first school will not do much to help . Drs are impossible to get appointments now so adding 500 more houses and people will cripple a system that is already under pressure .
Green belt should remain just that
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30 comments
John Beard
Appreciate all these comments, however I’m sure the council are trying to get the builder to pay for an essential junction upgrade.Anyone that uses that roundabout faces vehicles that don’t slow down, pedestrians that won’t use the subway, poor visibility, and so much wrong that should be sorted without any extra housing.
mr m j poole
P S the subway is NOT persistently flooded. i use the subway most days of the week and have done since the subway was built back in 1957 there are the odd days when there is a small flood but its soon sorted out and what small floods there are is due to a lack of maintenance from the county council
mr m j poole
the subway opened in 1957. 68 years ago. how many people have been injured or killed crossing the A34 using the subway ?? it would be a VERY different store with a surface crossing
W .Roberts
We have had more than enough of new developments up the Eccleshall Rd at Walton, The subway needs to be kept it’s the safest way to cross the a34 and yes better drainage and lighting would be good. We are losing our lovely stone town the infrastructure just can’t cope anymore. Born and bred in stone becoming totally unrecognisable with all this developments .
Susan P
Look at diverting traffic at the back of the Pirehill houses and bungalows, not through the estates so the traffic from these new houses can join the A34 from the tip industrial estate roundabout and to the left side to join A34 at Meaford. Eccleshall Road is so busy with traffic already. Find a way of putting a ramped bridge over the A34, traffic lights will cause further delays in increased traffic on Eccleshall Road. Its not just an additional school for a total of 880 houses needed, how will our struggling medical services be able to assist all of these families?
Linda Willett
I fail to see how closing off the Subway on Walton Roundabout and replacing it with traffic lights is going to improve the traffic chaos we already have. This appears to be a “condition” being used by the Planners to pave the way for Planning Application approval. The 3 housing proposals for Walton will be ongoing over a number of years, and will be an absolute nightmare for everyone living in Stone, using the roads, Doctors surgeries and Dentists , who are already working under pressure. One further First School isn’t going to make much of a difference, without other infrastructure being put in place.
Mark T
The proposal to close the Walton roundabout underpass and replace with pedestrian crossings on the A34 is a recipe for accidents. There are already two pedestrian crossing on the A34 between Walton roundabout and the industrial estate entrance. All to frequently cars race along the A34 in a 40mph zone often to try beat the lights changing or purely ignoring them, putting pedestrians at risk. Another crossing just gives the speeders another opportunity to have an accident in which the pedestrian will come off worse. Better to improve the underpass flood protection measures.
Karen Sokolenko
The introduction of traffic signal controlled pedestrian crossings on 3 arms of a very busy roundabout sounds like an ill-thought out proposal, and a recipe for traffic chaos particularly at peak times.
Has the developer considered the potential impact of delaying emergency vehicles – this road is the main route for emergency ambulances to access Stafford and Royal Stoke hospitals. Any delay to their journeys caused by the interruption of traffic flow could have potentially catastrophic consequences.
A statement has been made by the developer that the subway is poorly maintained and difficult to use (no evidence offered to support such a sweeping claim). An obvious solution would be to use the considerable funding that would be required in order to change the roundabout layout in order to improve drainage, lighting and the overall effect of the subway.
The re-design is stated to improve traffic flow, but this will be impossible with the introduction of pedestrian lights on 3 arms of the approach roads. The opposite is more likely, traffic flows will slow and congestion increase. Has any detailed traffic modelling been carried out to support the design intent, such as expected number of vehicles / hour, number of pedestrian crossings likely on each arm of the proposed new traffic flow?
The A34 through Stone receives freight and vehicle traffic from the M6 when it is closed for accidents and repair. Slowing this additional traffic burden will adversely impact them, and cause even more delays for local road users.
A full reworking of road markings and roundabout geometry will bring about months of driver misery, as experienced very recently during the roundabout upgrading works when journeys of 1 mile were taking over half an hour to complete.
The environmental impact in respect of air quality should also be considered, due to the increase in stationary traffic that this proposal would bring about, particularly for pedestrians and those living adjacent to the A34 or using local facilities.
Tina Selby
Closing the underpass would definitely worsen traffic flow because replacement traffic lights would halt the traffic and it would back up. The underpass works and is safe for pedestrians, in particular school children. Getting out of Pirehill Lane onto Eccleshall Road can be really difficult even without the new developments. Has anyone considered installing a mini roundabout to address this where Pirehill Lane joins?
Graham hardy
This is not a proposal for a better road system in stone it’s all connected to the proposed building of nearly a thousand new houses in and around stone.
It’s a nightmare getting off the pirehill estate now and extra houses will only make it worse.
Rebecca Sharp
I agree with the comments made. As a Walton resident, I know that the underpass is a workable thoroughfare which rarely floods. Lights at Walton roundabout will hinder already poor traffic flow and as for 500+ new houses, no thank you! Stafford and Stoke hospitals are both stretched to capacity, as are the doctors and dentists in Stone. I do not support any further developments.
Mike Hall
The A34 northbound gets priority over traffic from Walton so a pedestrian controlled crossing on the north side will only block access to the roundabout. Consider this when the M6 is blocked (this happens far more times than the subway flooding). Also I see no provision for the lane transfer for the very large transporters, travelling northwards, that need to pass under the Filleybrooks railway bridge.
Keep the subway. It’s far saver than pedestrian crossings.
RICHARD Shuker
No more houses doctors dentists already over stretched definitely don’t need more
John Tozer
Getting the best outcomes for our future Stone road arteries is
vital and requires the investment of our very best planning brains.
The plans submitted by Bloor Homes etc suggest one solution but its obvious flaws and disadvantages makes me think that housebuilders are not the best people to go for advice about how we go about our daily lives.
We all live in houses that were at once grassed and forested but increasingly need to address both their provision and location.
Robert Scott
I think you should complete the proposal but keep the underpass, improve the drainage and improve the lighting
Helen
Removing the underpass and adding traffic lights will be detrimental to pedestrian safety. Adding in a pedestrian crossing will delay traffic flow even further. The proposed work, ( if beaconside is an example of speed) will take years and cause grid lock in the town. Walton is already congested in the mornings and more housing will mean traffic will be at a stand still
Richard Martin
As a resident of Udal grange when all the searches were completed we were informed that no further developments would be allowed.
Claire Valentine-Gibson
Walton subway or underpass, is fully accessible as it is. Very occasionally it will flood. So let’s manage that root cause and not build something else. It’s fully accessible for wheels, legs, paws and wings. Yes it could do with brightening up… get us local artists some paints and brushes and we’ll have a relaxing canal scene in no time.
I’m concerned this development is smoke and mirrors to build more homes on green land that we do not have the infrastructure to support. Redevelopment the brownfield sites first.
Mrs Halmarack
A survey capturing how many people cross the roads is needed, just to prove it is not needed,I have seen the odd one or two crossing. Traffic lights will be a complete nightmare, on what is already a busy road. I have know the underpass to flood twice. As for upgrading the markings on the highway, they are already there, on the whole the roundabout flows well apart from
peak times just as many major roads do. Manor estate is already a rat run.
Do we need chaos on the roundabout for months and months just so planning permission might be given.
Green belt is green belt, why not try and locate brown belt sites.
Where will this school go??
GP’s are struggling now.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Patricia Lockwood
#SirGavinWilliamson
We have lived in Walton for over 42 years. We have lived with hold ups from our Lane because of the M6 being closed and traffic sent along The A34. Then they started building on Green Land and for every 100 houses builders are twice or more cars to add to the queues.
We have had to protest about builders wanting to go build on green land adjacent and within our streets. The last few years have been a total nightmare with all the roadblocks even an 8-10 mile diversion to go North or South for weeks.
The underpass just needs bringing up to date and possibly as in Jersey they have a rule that people use roundabouts allowing alternate traffic right of way..then you don’t get road rage, because cars force their way in, and traffic then moves smoothly!
Sheila Bailey
A pedestrian overpass would be better than traffic lights . But I lived at Walton most of my life and I think I only had to cross over the road due to flooding may be 3 times in 50 years . Traffic flows quite well until you get some idiot who cannot get straight across goes part way and blocks the whole road as I have seen recently when road works were holding things up
Dan
I use Walton Roundabout as a driver of a car, as a cyclist and as a pedestrian. Why are we fixing something which is not broken? Waste of money and just going cause more issues in my opinion.
Tony coe
Agree with most comments to date. Improving Walton roundabout will just increase existing problems around the one way system eg Morrisons & splitter island. Further out it will add to the current load on over-stretched, poorly performing local hospitals. Build a Stone bypass, a new hospital & pay doctors to staff it & I may change my mind
Merope Capernaros
I doubt that traffic light pedestrian crossings would do anything to improve what is already a vital junction to access the town centre of Stone. By all means give the underpass a good fix but we all know how long contractors take to finish junctions in Stafford. Less green space, More houses, another first school when funding for running schools is already drastically reduced to undermine the schools we already have? Not feasible, affordable or desirable.
Joy Galvin
This is a ploy by developers to ease the way for planning permission. We are not just talking about the bloor development but two others are in the pipeline. One opposite the bloor site and another off Marlborough Road. Almost 1000 new homes proposed. All new developments will have to use the Eccleshall Road. There is no other option. Manor Rise and that estate will become a relief road for many as it did during the last almost never ending road works .
RICHARD Shuker
More houses more pressure on our doctors and pharmacy and dentist absolutely against the idea
Ian Westwell
Pathetic idea to install pedestrian crossing at such a major junction!! Keep kids and cars completely separate.
If it was important to keep them separate between Aston & Walton Islands with a footbridge why mix pedestrians with traffic coming from 4 directions?. If it goes ahead, avoid Stone between 0800 & 1000 and 1530 & 1800 every wèekday
Mrs Barwell
The removal of the subway and putting traffic lights in will be a recipe for disaster.. the traffic it will generate and the impatience of drivers, there will be accidents and in an area full of families with children, the risk cannot be taken…
I was personally ran over on the A34 because a van ran a red light on the pedestrian crossing by aldi.. a high speed road and pedestrians can’t mix with the amount of people who run red lights. I know I personally would find it near impossible to cross by the roundabout without the subway, especially at busy times. The safest thing to do is to keep the pedestrians and traffic separate and ensure the subway has appropriate upkeep ( however I’ve only known it flood twice in the last few years)
Harry Dix
No to any more houses in Stone area it’s all down to money at the end of the day farmers or council selling off land ,the town and it still is a town cannot cope with any more people.It all comes to a head at Walton roundabout if you need to go to Stoke, Stafford ,Longton or Meir and putting pedestrian crossings in just doesn’t cut it.Also the usual spiel of every house building company,green spaces, affordable housing, new school , doctors surgery laughable that’s what they all say.
Mandy Burke
Traffic lights on the walton roundabout will cause more chaos and worsen the traffic, its position will make it a hazard to pedestrians . More houses is not what stone needs the infrastructure is already under too much pressure . Building 1 first school will not do much to help . Drs are impossible to get appointments now so adding 500 more houses and people will cripple a system that is already under pressure .
Green belt should remain just that