Campaigners dealt blow as weight limit is rejected

Budget breakfast.Mike Maryon Bass museum

HIGHWAYS chiefs have refused to impose a 7.5-tonne weight limit on a residential road plagued by lorries.

Staffordshire County Council said banning HGVs from entering Burton by using the B5017 Shobnall Road, Forest Road and Henhurst Hill would simply ‘put the problem onto other communities’.

But Shobnall Traffic Action Group (STAG), which formed to campaign for the introduction of a weight limit to force lorries onto other roads, said the council’s decision was ‘in a sense disappointing’ and vowed to to continue fighting for a weight limit.

The road is frequently used by lorries travelling from the A50 in Burton. STAG claims heavy HGV traffic have caused noise pollution, damage to parked cars and put pedestrian safety at risk.

Jeremy Elks, the group’s secretary, said following a meeting with county council officials: “They were adamant they were not going to be introducing a weight limit.

“In a sense it’s disappointing because the weight limit was one of the prime demands of the group.”

The county council instead said it would install new road signs to encourage lorries to use alternative routes into Burton, although there will be no enforceable weight limit to keep lorries off the road.

Mike Maryon, the county council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “We have looked at the whole issue and spent quite a bit of money on surveys. The biggest issue with taking lorries off that road is that it would put the problem onto other communities.

“We decided the best way forward was to try to divert lorries away by changing signage to encourage them along the main A-roads instead. This is along with talking to lorry companies and asking for their co-operation to divert their lorries onto other roads.”

STAG chairman Jan Shand previously said alterations to signs alone would not be sufficient to stop lorry drivers using the road as a shortcut into Burton from the A50, thus avoiding the A38.

Mr Elks said: “Lorry drivers are well aware of the route. They use it regularly.

“They are directed this way by sat-nav and will continue to use this route, so there probably will still be an issue with these vehicles. We will still be pressuring and nagging on about a weight limit.”

STAG also has concerns about future traffic levels, with different property firms proposing to build four housing developments in the area, all of which would be accessed by Shobnall Road.