A BLIND man has spoken of his “dismay” at the abrupt removal of the traffic island at the bottom of Castle Street last month.

In an open letter to MP Jeremy Hunt, Patrick Ward said he was “dismayed” after visiting Farnham with a friend and found the traffic island had been removed.

He wrote: “I am registered blind, and had I been on my own I would have had no idea the pedestrian refuge had gone until I was floundering (in what I would have presumed) was the middle of the road!

“This means that there is no safe way for me to cross over Castle Street.”

Andy MacLeod, Farnham Residents’ Surrey County Councillor for Farnham Central told the Herald he has received a number of complaints about the removal of the traffic island at the bottom of Castle Street at the junction with The Borough, while further complaints have also been made directly to the county council as the highway authority.

Chris Tunstall, of the Farnham Infrastructure Programme (FIP), said the decision to remove the traffic island came after consultation with officers at Surrey and the town council.

The traffic island was installed prior to the installation of the Castle Street ‘orangery buildings’ in 2006 – including the Castle Street Flowers stall on the corner of the junction.

However, the installation of the flower stall meant the island was “no longer in the centre of the junction”, said Mr Tunstall, and was “constantly overrun by vehicles looking to make the left turn out of Castle Street”.

He added: “Going forward the FIP is already looking to reduce the number of vehicles, particularly Heavy Goods Vehicles, just travelling through Farnham, as well as possible speed reduction, particularly in the centre of town – in addition to a number of other measures to make it a more attractive environment.

“We have listened to local feedback and a further safety review of the junction has been undertaken, now the work is complete, and the recommendations made are being considered for implementation.”