Weight restriction on HGVs would be “a dream come true” for campaigning councillors

SECURING a weight restriction on a village road blighted by HGVs would be “a dream come true” for local campaigning councillors.

The proposed new weight restriction on roads around the Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft ward of Warrington would limit heavy goods vehicle access to roads in the area except for access. Councillor Matt Smith, who chairs the Glazebury traffic working group, said: “Councillors have frequently heard from residents about the problems caused by HGVs passing through our villages, often as a cut through to access the motorway network from the East Lancashire Road and vice-versa. Despite their A-road designation, these roads are not suitable for this number of larger vehicles, with houses and school playgrounds only a pavement width from the road itself. We have seen a significant increase in the number of HGVs passing through Glazebury as a result of weight restrictions imposed by Wigan MBC on a road bordering our ward. The Glazebury traffic working group brought together residents, councillors and council officers to address these issues.”
Cllr Jan Davidson added “There has always been concern from the residents here about the noise, poor air quality and damage to property caused by these vehicles passing within a few metres of peoples front doors. As councillors we have been pushing for many years for action to be taken to improve the situation. We’re exceptionally pleased to present this proposal to the residents of Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft. Although the focus was on Glazebury, the plan should reduce HGV traffic across the three villages. This will be a dream come true for all those residents who have been blighted by HGVs running through our villages with no care other than taking a minute or two off their journey to a motorway.”
Cllr Andrew Hill from the neighbouring ward of Rixton & Woolston also welcomed the restriction, saying “This proposal will benefit the villages of Glazebrook and Hollins Green which are also plagued by heavy goods vehicles using them as a short cut, often at inappropriately high speeds and times, we fully support the implementation of the scheme as will the residents here.”
Parish Cllr Ben Alldred added: “The weight restriction is just one of a package of measures we are looking at to improve road safety in Glazebury and beyond. Work has already taken place to repair sections of the road, add “slow” markings and provide residents parking bays. In recent years the Parish Council has also funded the provision of several speed indicator devices along the road, but we will not be stopping there. We have now begun discussions with David Keane, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, on joint funding of other ways to potentially reduce speed and enforce the weight restriction through the village.”
The proposed weight restriction is currently being consulted upon, further details are available from https://www.warrington.gov.uk/permanent-traffic-regulation-orders. The consultation closes on 29th October 2020.