Town councillors are set to write to their colleagues at Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council and housing developer Persimmon Homes to call for urgent action on improving safety around Leamington Road.

A residents' petition last year called for action at the Kenilworth Gate housing estate, some six years after the planning application for the development was first put forward.

Homeowners at the estate have called for a safe crossing across the "dangerous" Leamington Road, and for the busy link into town to be reduced to 30mph, saying it is not safe for them to walk along the road and into the centre of town.

At present residents are either forced to walk along a muddy path on the other side of Leamington Road if they cannot cross it, or take a much longer route through Thickthorn Gardens on the other side of the development.

Kenilworth Town Council has unanimously backed a motion supporting the petitioners and calling on the local authorities to take faster action on finding a permanent solution.

Presenting the motion, Cllr Richard Dickson said: "Almost all the properties on Kenilworth Gate - just off Leamington Road - are now occupied. 

"I am extremely grateful to the residents who have shared with me their concerns about traffic safety. 

"Anybody who has tried to come out of Kenilworth Gate to try and cross the road - whether to go to Bullimore Wood, Bullimore Grove or just to get into town - knows how dangerous that is. 

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"Leamington Road is the only road into or out of Kenilworth that is a 40mph road, all the others are 30mph."

The petition was signed by over 1,000 residents and was presented at Shire Hall last year.

Since then the county's portfolio holder for transport, Cllr Jennifer Warren, has visited the site, but no formal progress on a crossing has been announced.

Cllr Dickson continued: "We need to use every lever we can to get some action. 

"There was a fatality on that road in October last year, a very sad fatality. 

"We do not need any more blue light incidents on that road - it is very dangerous."

The motion received support across the town council.

Cllr David Bailey said: "I fully support the proposal. 

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"It is very dangerous, you see it every day people walking down the verge. 

"It is a very bad situation that has been talked about for too long and I think there should be some action on it."

Meanwhile, Cllr Andrew Milton added: "Some of the people who have tried to cross that road are people from the developers - because I made them do it when I was on a site visit. 

"Despite the fact a number of us were wearing hi-vis, it took around 10 minutes - I don't jest by saying 10 minutes - to find a gap in the traffic. 

"That shows how dangerous it is."

Councillors also spoke at length about the need not just for a fix on Leamington Road, but for the district council to ensure safe infrastructure is guaranteed for new developments before residents move in.