Swadlincote roundabout on the rocks after Stonehenge mockery

A roundabout redesign that cost taxpayers £8,000 has been dubbed an “ill-conceived monstrosity” and compared to a budget Stonehenge by residents.

At the end of August, South Derbyshire District Council carried out a redesign to the roundabout in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, which links Church Street, Vicarage Road and Civic Way.

The previously grassy roundabout, with hanging baskets, has been replaced with large white stones, brown pebbles and rock-filled wire cages called gabions.

A council spokesperson said the roundabout was “dangerous” to maintain due to no parking spot for staff, adding the renovated spot would attract wildlife and prevent weeds.

The work was carried out by the district council under a cultivation licence with Derbyshire County Council, and the project will eventually include some planting in the autumn.

Residents have told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the renovation is a “carbuncle” that “looks a mess” and is “another waste of council tax money”.

They have compared it to an “awful” version of Stonehenge, or “Swadhenge”, in reference to the ancient standing rock formation in Wiltshire.

One resident told the LDRS: “I don’t think there will be any wildlife on that – not unless they are lorry spotters.”

Another Swadlincote resident said: “I am absolutely all for biodiversity and protecting our wildlife but the placement and aesthetics are way off the mark.”

Meanwhile, another resident said: “Why attract wildlife to an island on a busy road right into the path of oncoming traffic? No common sense, honestly.”

A council spokesperson said: “There were a number of operational challenges maintaining a roundabout at such a busy road junction.

“We took the opportunity to landscape the island and have installed new gabions for wildlife, ornamental stones to prevent weed growth and new structural planting will be installed in the winter.”