Newbury lorry ban bid up for refusal
Officers recommend lorry ban for busy Newbury town centre is thrown out
A PETITION from residents in Mill Lane, Newbury seeking to ban heavy goods vehicles trundling through the street looks set to have fallen on deaf ears.
West Berkshire Council officers have recommended against introducing a weight restriction on the road, although the final decision will rest with the portfolio folder for transport, David Betts (Con, Purley-on-Thames) when he makes a decision on Thursday (19)
The order proposed was for the whole length of Mill Lane, between its junction with Kings Road and its junction with Boundary Road, and came about following a plea from 15 residents
The council states that HGV traffic down the road is “inevitable”, and that alternative routes would add several miles to journeys.
The report said it was likely most drivers would simply ignore a rule of which enforcement by the police and council would be a “low priority”.
Victoria ward members Roger Hunneman (Lib Dem) and David Allen (Lib Dem) were both angered by recommendations to ignore a ban and both have expressed intent to push ahead with proposals to build a link road to the industrial estate
Mr Hunneman said: “I am very disappointed that the officer recommendation is against the implementation of a HGV ban in Mill Lane – this will mean a continuation of a significant environmental impact on the local residents.
It is clear that alternative routes for the HGV access from the west to the Newbury Industrial Estate are badly needed.
“The whole question of traffic management in east Newbury is going to be examined by a specially convened working group, the first meeting taking place shortly, and I very much hope it will further support the link road and consider any other ways of addressing these long standing problems in the area and thereby improving the environment for the residents of Victoria ward as well as reducing the existing congestion in the area.”