Fears raised over safety of A46 junction
Residents call for action, claiming there are reported incidents 'nearly every week'
Last updated 15th Mar 2025
“Someone will have to die before change happens” residents have claimed amid growing concerns over a major Leicestershire junction.
Calls for action and improvements have intensified after reported incidents in the area “nearly every week”.
Residents in Seagrave and Thrussington have spoken out over their fears of the A46 crossroads which stand between the two villages, with many claiming it is a “dangerous game” to try crossing.
However, concerns have seemingly fallen on deaf ears after National Highways confirmed it has “no immediate plans” for the junction, saying there were only five recorded accidents there between 2019 and 2023.
Melton and Syston MP Edward Argar has long voiced his own concerns over the crossroads, and says it’s “only a matter of time before there is another serious accident here”.
Seagrave parish councillor Paul Simpson has even carried out a survey of residents amid the growing concerns and said 97 per cent of them do not feel safe crossing over the junction.
People responding to the survey called the junction “chaotic”, “horrendous” and “a death trap”. One respondent described themselves as a “nervous wreck” after having their view blocked by a tractor and trailer in the central reservation, while another said their daughter was treated at A&E after she was involved in a collision last year.
Several people said they actively avoided the junction, while 72 per cent said they had had a “negative or dangerous experience” there since May 2024.
Coun Simpson carried out a similar survey in 2022 after his wife was involved in a crash at the spot, with people feeling no safer at the junction now despite recent work carried out to road markings and the central reservation following Leicester City FC’s training ground being opened nearby.
Coun Simpson said there’s “a lot of worried people” and asked why a flyover planned for the junction in the early 1990s by the Department for Transport did not go ahead. He says that the increasing size of nearby Sileby has also put huge pressure on the junction.
“There’s a lot of worried people and it’s just a question of time as to when there’s a fatality,” Coun Simpson said. “We’ve had seven accidents since I launched the survey in autumn 2024.
"This is happening nearly every week, I don’t know what cost that is to the police, ambulance and fire services.
“I don’t know where we go from here but it’s hugely frustrating that someone will have to die before change happens. We know that what we should have, we haven’t got, and that’s what was proposed 30 years ago, which was a flyover.
"Sileby was a third of the size when they proposed this. There’s loads of consequences and domino effects from not designing a junction properly. Who put safety over cost when Sileby was a third the size of what it is today?”
Since Leicester City’s Seagrave training ground opened, works to modify the junction’s central reservation and road markings have been carried out, but Coun Simpson said more needs to be done.
He thinks a maximum 50mph speed limit through the stretch would be an immediate improvement, adding: “In one turn there’s about eight danger points. In the summer you can’t see over the grass.”
MP Mr Argar, who has campaigned for more than five years for changes to be made to the junction, said he has met with National Highways, but it doesn’t agree work needs to be carried out. The MP said: “So far, despite a number of meetings with National Highways including on site, they have been clear they do not believe the junction meets the criteria for major works, and that they do not have a budget for changes to the junction.
“I disagree, and fear it is only a matter of time before there is another serious accident here. I will continue campaigning for National Highways to make vital changes to improve safety at this junction.”
Stu Scott, whose son was involved in a crash at the site in November last year, said he has lived nearby for more than 20 years and has seen traffic increase, along with the number of accidents. He said: “The recent works to widen the internal section has left users with too much space but if a large vehicle is crossing you still can’t see past. It’s like roulette. Over the years I’ve helped drivers of both cars and motorcycles that have ‘lost’ this dangerous game and unfortunately recently that included my son.”
His son was not seriously injured in the accident, although Mr Scott said there was “lots of damage”. He added: “There seems to be enough traffic to warrant building a massive brand new service station a few miles up but the only junction now without a flyover is left to cause carnage. It’s a disaster and a disgrace. There needs to be a speed reduction at the junction asap then the old plans for a flyover resurrected.”
National Highways route manager Phil Shaw said: “Safety is always our primary concern and we will be in contact with Coun Simpson to discuss concerns about this junction. To enable us to prioritise the investment of taxpayers’ money on our roads we constantly monitor the safety performance of all our routes.
“Between 2019 and 2023 there were five collisions at the location, despite this area being used by an average of 33,000 vehicles a day. Although there are no immediate plans for investment at this junction we will continue to monitor safety and listen to people’s concerns.”
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