EVERYONE has their own experience of HM Prison Rodbourne, a councillor said during a debate on the traffic chaos that plagues the area.

Desperate residents brought a petition containing more than 700 signatures before councillors to urge them to find solutions to the congestion issues around the Outlet Village.

Amy Wilkins, 41, spoke passionately about how the endless traffic problems have blighted the lives of her and her fellow residents.

“The Outlet Village is great, we don’t have a problem with that at all. We always used to expect it to be busy at Christmas or around Easter – we knew we would struggle to get in and out.

“But the Outlet Centre expanded and nothing was done to accommodate it, and every weekend it is impossible to get down Rodbourne Road. We have to plan ahead for the weekend and we have to add extra time onto our journeys.”

She said that things have become so bad that friends and relatives no longer visit her neighbours due to being unable to get into Rodbourne.

Last week, Labour’s Jim Robbins, one of the Mannington councillors who has been leading the bid to find a solution, hailed as “productive” a meeting between councillors and highways officers.

The solutions put forward include getting rid of the barriers at the Outlet Centre car parks to speed up parking, changing the entrance and exits in order to add more spaces, making the car parks multi-story and introducing automatic number plate recognition.

Councillor Kevin Small, another Mannington representative, described the area as “HM Prison Rodbourne” and said: “A community shouldn’t be restricted in its movement in this way.

“If we don’t do something about this the people of Rodbourne are going to get more angry and more militant.”

In a huge display of collective action, the petition presented to the council by Amy and her fellow residents received more than 700 signatures in just 10 days.

In a desperate plea to councillors, Amy said: “We just want to be listened to and we just want you guys to hear us.”

In response, David Renard, leader of the council, thanked the petitioners for speaking and said that a number of solutions were being seriously considered.

He said: “We are very happy to work with the ward councillors to come up with the best possible answer. Hopefully, a series of measures implemented over a period of time will solve the problems.”

Councillors are also looking into addressing the difficulties in leaving the area from Paddington Drive and Penzance Drive, and the removal of the bus gate in Church Place.