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Controversial 'Wotsit Street' to go, council boss says

Claire HamiltonMerseyside political reporter
News imageBBC A road decorated with orange blobs painted on the tarmac. A bright orange barrier lies discarded on the carriageway. There are large orange planters along one side of the road, filled with dead grasses. There are shops along one side of the street. BBC
The garish traffic calming measures have been widely ridiculed

Bright orange markings which led to a road being nicknamed "Wotsit Street" are to be removed after residents condemned them as a "diabolical mess".

The controversial road markings and planters on Grange Road West in Birkenhead, Merseyside, were introduced as traffic calming measures in 2025.

However, Wirral Council leader Paula Basnett has conceded local people were right to criticise the £300,000 scheme, and said she had asked officers to remove the features by the end of the month.

She said the street furniture and planters would be donated to schools and community groups.

The temporary traffic calming measures were introduced in 2025.

At the time the council said the "coloured surfacing design represents an eye-catching but straightforward way of changing the dynamics of the street without the need for major civil work".

But the road quickly became known as "Wotsit Street" after locals said the orange shapes painted on the tarmac resemble the cheesy corn puff snack.

News imageBBC News/Claire Hamilton A blonde woman looks directly at the camera. She has bobbed hair, dark blue eyes and a slight smile. She's wearing a dark jacket and white t-shirt and is standing in front of a BBC Radio Merseyside banner. BBC News/Claire Hamilton
Wirral Council leader Paula Basnett admitted the scheme was not appropriate for the area

Debbie Taylor, who has lived in Birkenhead all her life, said the markings could not be removed quickly enough.

"I don't think it compliments the area, it doesn't fit in with anything else," she said.

"It doesn't seem to be part of a master plan - it's an eyesore."

Another resident, Kevin, said the tubs full of "dead plants and trees" did "not look nice".

Sharon added: "It's awful, it makes Birkenhead a laughing stock."

News imageA woman with black hair and sunglasses stands on a street, smiling at the camera. In the background you can see brightly coloured paint on the street and orange planters.
Birkenhead resident Debbie Taylor is among those who have criticised the project

Callers also contacted BBC Merseyside and spoke to the council leader directly.

One said the scheme "looks cheap and nasty", adding: "I can't see how that could even go within a fraction of the budget that you had, you've wasted all that money on a diabolical mess."

She continued: "Somebody somewhere knows who was responsible for it, and the people of Wirral have been told this was a big mistake.

"But we're not being told who the mistake was made by.

"How can we trust our will council when so many of these really, really expensive regeneration mistakes are being made?"

Basnett said traffic calming measures were undoubtedly needed but she agreed the design was inappropriate for that area of Birkenhead.

News imageA street painted with orange and yellow blobs right across the pavement and carriageway. There are orange tubs and planters filled with dead plants. In the foreground you can see an abandoned wooden pallet.
Residents said the plants had died and the area was being used as a rubbish dump

She said the road had been ridiculed on social media and had "put Birkenhead on the map, for maybe the wrong reasons".

The leader said the road would now need to be closed in order for the paint to be removed, and then re-engineered and redesigned in September.

She confirmed the council would absorb the costs of the work but did not put a figure on the final sum.

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