In Fairford, Gloucestershire, residents were left both amused and perplexed after a utility company repainted the word “KEEP” in bright yellow block letters on a road outside the long-closed Coln House School on Horcott Road. The partial repainting of these now-redundant ‘keep clear’ road markings has raised questions about unnecessary public spending.
Local resident Sandra Kolasinski shared her reaction, saying the road marking had made her laugh but also expressing frustration over the seemingly pointless work. “The old Coln House School has been closed for years and the site is now being converted into housing. Yet, despite this, the utility company repainted the word ‘KEEP’ on the road where the former school markings once stood. It’s baffling—are the workers not allowed to question such instructions? This feels like a total waste of money.”
Historically, Horcott Road saw clear ‘SCHOOL KEEP CLEAR’ markings to ensure safety around the active school. However, with the school’s closure and the area undergoing transformation, the necessity of such markings has long since vanished. Yet, after recent roadworks, only part of the marking was restored, leaving a confusing and isolated word on the pavement.
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Stephen Andrews, a former Cotswold district councillor familiar with the area’s traffic regulations, suggested that the utility company’s actions might have been dictated by outdated legal requirements. “It doesn’t make sense to repaint the signs, but the company may have been compelled by a traffic regulation order that hasn’t yet been updated since the school’s closure years ago,” he explained.
Gloucestershire County Council’s highways representative, Mark Harris, confirmed the council’s involvement in addressing the issue. “The utility company reinstated the original road markings after their work, which is standard procedure. However, since the ‘School Keep Clear’ signs had faded and are no longer applicable, we’ve instructed them to return and black out the markings to avoid confusion.”
This incident highlights the challenges in updating regulatory paperwork and procedures to keep pace with changes on the ground, as well as the importance of scrutinizing how public funds are spent on maintenance and repairs. Meanwhile, locals can at least appreciate a moment of unintended humor in the midst of bureaucratic oversight.