Maryport community leaders have pledged action to tackle traffic and safety concerns on the town centre’s main road.

The county council has hired consultants to review the layout of Senhouse Street, which retailers have argued has not been fit for purpose since it was redesigned 10 years ago. The review is set to be completed by the end of March.

Councillor Carni McCarron-Holmes has been fighting for years to get the street changed, and her county council colleague Coun Keith Little is supporting her bid.

They have said what will happen will depend on the results of the survey and the availability of funding.

Coun McCarron-Holmes said: “I would hope that something can be done in the next financial year. I am prepared to go cap in hand to the county and see if money can be released through the Allerdale local committee.

“It could be that if the work is too costly, it would have to be done in phases but we need something done.”

More than a decade ago the two-way road was closed to most traffic to trial it as a pedestrian street.

Pavements were widened, with a narrowed one-way carriageway for deliveries and disabled drivers.

The pedestrianisation was scrapped after shops closed and traders said it was putting drivers off shopping in the town, but it had to remain one-way because of the narrowed road.

Since then there have been concerns about drivers using angled parking bays having to reverse out into traffic.

John George, who owns two Senhouse Street businesses, said: “They shut off the tap when they tried to pedestrianise the street. Everybody lost trade.

“The best thing they could do is restore the street to how it was, with a wider road, parking on both sides and a free flow of traffic.”

Everyone at the Curzon Street end spoke of the “nightmare” of the section of angled parking bays.

Greengrocer Brian Easterbrook said: “I have seen lot of accidents and there have been pedestrians knocked over.”

Pauline Mallyon, of Cosmic, said motorists also had a part to play. She said there were frequently cars parked right outside her shop on double yellow lines.

“People just park there and go and do their shop in Heron Foods. When the bus is parked on the other side it causes real trouble.”

Meanwhile, work will start on the Maryport transport hub within the next month. The county council is creating a new car park for the train station and creating a footpath to the town centre.

A spokesman said initial work would be at the top of Mealpot Road nearest the A596, with some traffic control in place.