A councillor is calling for a dangerous junction “to be made safe” amid fears it is becoming an accident blackspot after several high-profile crashes.

Mel Dawkins (Lab) claims the complex layout of St George’s Place in Canterbury could lead to fatalities in the future.

Her words of warning come after emergency services were scrambled to the area last week after a car hit a pedestrian.

The woman was treated at Canterbury Hospital for injuries following the crash.

The four-way convergence of St George’s Place, New Dover Road, and Upper and Lower Chantry Lane is one of the most-used crossings in Canterbury.

“There’s been a couple of accidents over the past few years. The road needs to be made safer before something else happens – I’m really concerned about another accident happening,” Cllr Dawkins said.

“There is a lot happening in the same place – a bus stop, a turning into Waitrose and the pedestrian crossing.

“Perhaps these need to be reorganised to improve visibility and safety in this area.

“It’s a dual carriageway too so better signage could help. With one of the incidents, I think a bus was at a bus stop and a car carried on driving when there was a red light at the pedestrian crossing.”

In 2014 police shut New Dover Road after a 19-year-old was hit by a car.

Two ambulances rushed to the scene where the teenager was thought to have been thrown across the top of the car on impact.

In 2016, a man on a mobility scooter was left with serious injuries after being struck by a lorry.

The rider, who was 92, was hit by the Mercedes truck at the entrance to the Waitrose car park.

In 2020, former Lady Mayoress and university lecturer Anne Seller died after a Ford Transit Connect hit her in the same area.

Her death came after a 20-year-old man was killed after a Dacia Logan hit him on the same stretch of road the week before.

In 2021, Samuel Lewis had been enjoying an evening with friends in Canterbury on the eve of the second national lockdown on November 4, when he was fatally struck by a delivery vehicle after losing his footing while clambering over a barrier in the middle of the A257 St George’s Place.

More recently in 2022, another woman was taken to hospital with injuries after two cars were involved in a crash at the busy junction.

Stressing she will continue to call on Kent County Council (KCC) Highways to make changes, Cllr Dawkins argues other areas in the city are wrongly being priotised.

She argues the authority is dragging its heels while focusing on the Mountfield Park development, a sprawling 4,000 home ‘garden city’ green lit in winter 2022.

In July 2023, developers agreed to pump millions of pounds into improving roads, schools and healthcare facilities.

The controversial scheme is set to transform the south of Canterbury, despite facing hundreds of objections from locals, a High Court battle and lengthy delays.

After permission was granted, developer Corinthian Homes agreed on a multi-million-pound plan of action with Canterbury City Council (CCC) to get the long-running scheme off the ground.

She said: “Waiting until the development starts is not quick enough – something needs to be done now. We may have to wait 10 years to see all this stuff happening and in the meantime, we’re going to have more accidents.

On the St George’s Place traffic system, Cllr Dawkins told KentOnline the look and feel of the road layout needs changing as it is encouraging drivers to speed.

“It feels like it’s a big one-way track out of town when it’s not because it’s two lanes and then goes down to one,” she said.

“These are all dominoes stacked up waiting for one to happen before the other one can but something needs to be done now – it’s a safety issue.

“There’s a lot of students lingering around, lots of crossings, and a left turn.

“There’s an issue along the whole road.”

Kent County Council has been contacted for comment.