A ONE-stop-shop formed two years ago to streamline council highways operations has been slammed for operating like a secret club and achieving "zilch".

Frustrated Bewdley town leaders have accused the joint Wyre Forest District Council and Worcestershire County Council Highways Partnership of taking decisions "in isolation".

And amid mounting anger over traffic problems in the town they are taking their worries direct to the county council.

A heated town council meeting on Monday agreed to call in director of environmental services Richard Wigginton for " a walkabout" in Bewdley in a last-ditch effort to attract attention and get a traffic management plan drawn up.

It follows more than two years of repeated representations on issues ranging from dangerous driving conditions on the Cleobury Road to the pollution black-spot at Welch Gate.

The town's move underlines dissatisfaction with the partnership which brings under one roof a range of functions previously shared by the county and district councils and which is steered by three district and three county councillors.

Although Bewdley Town Council members emphasised there was no criticism of partnership officers, they complained they were exasperated at the failure of partnership members to get their demands acted upon.

They also attacked its failure to distribute information about its six-times-a-year meetings except to members.

Councillor Nigel Knowles, a Bewdley resident and parish, county and district councillor who proposed calling in the county environment chief, said: "I am concerned it does not seem to be working for whatever reason. It is not the officers but the politicians who are not getting anything moving.

"When it comes to Bewdley, what has been done about traffic is zilch. It's a pretty awful and very demoralising when people stop me and ask what is happening about ideas we put forward ages ago and I have to say 'nothing.' "

Councillor Tony Clay said there had been no response to a number of requests for research to show where the increasing traffic through town was coming from and proposals to discourage cars from using the centre.

"We have put forward lots of good ideas and they have got lost. Our town is being spoilt by traffic and nothing is being done about it."

He added: "The partnership seems to work in isolation. We have a quarrel with decisions that are made but it is difficult to get minutes and agendas."

Bewdley resident and county councillor Ken Peers, who is soon to become partnership chairman, countered: "A lot of what they ask for is unachievable. Ideas like introducing one-way traffic systems have been looked at before and are not so simple. They keep trying to re-invent the wheel."

"No-one wants to snub the town council but I have not been asked to talk to them about the subjects they are worried about.

"Bewdley's problem is it was built in the wrong place, though it is 900 years too late to say so."

Mr Peers said one of the problems was that traffic-calming measures needed to be enforced by police to be effective. There was nothing wrong with the Cleobury Road, he argued. It was speeding drivers that were at fault.

"I think we are sympathetic to local feeling but we have to manoeuvre within a limited budget," he added.

Partnership manager Stuart Reynolds said traffic-calming the full length of Cleobury Road would cost £200,000 and was beyond the remit of a £50,000-a-year budget for such schemes.

He believed there was a communication failure and would welcome invitations to meet the town council to discuss problems.