CABINET – 8TH MARCH 2005

LEICESTERSHIRE, AND – PROPOSED WEIGHT RESTRICTION IN THE VALE OF BELVOIR

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF HIGHWAYS, TRANSPORTATION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

PART A

Purpose of Report

1. To advise Cabinet of objections to the proposed weight restriction in an area of the Vale of Belvoir, which encompasses roads within and Nottinghamshire.

Recommendations

2. It is RECOMMENDED that:

(i) the scheme as set out in Appendix A to this report be implemented at the earliest opportunity; (ii) the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste Management be authorised to continue the ongoing dialogue with Nottinghamshire County Council to ensure that appropriate measures are implemented on Langar Lane and other roads in Nottinghamshire. (iii) agreement be sought from Nottinghamshire County Council to jointly request the Highways Agency to provide a left slip road off the A52 trunk road at Bingham, Nottinghamshire into Langar Lane.

Reasons for Recommendation

3. The proposed scheme is consistent with the overall strategy for the implementation of the lorry control plan.

Timetable for Funding

4. The scheme is included in 2005/06 Programme of Integrated Transport Schemes and if approved would be implemented at the earliest opportunity

Policy Framework and Previous Decisions

5. Policies in relation to the development of the lorry control strategy are set out in the County Council’s Local Transport Plan.

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Resource Implications

6. The estimated cost of the proposals including works to be undertaken on roads within Nottinghamshire and those controlled by the Highways Agency is £100,000 inclusive of design and supervision costs.

7. This scheme is included in the 2005/06 Capital Programme of Integrated Transport Schemes.

8. The Director of Resources has been consulted on the Resource Implications section of this report.

Circulation Under Sensitive Issues Procedure

Mr B Chapman AE 28th February 2005 Mr J B Rhodes 28th February 2005 Dr. M O’Callaghan 28th February 2005 Lt. Col P A Roffey DL 28th February 2005

Officer to Contact

Mr M J Bradford 0116 265 7222 e-mail [email protected]

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PART B Background

9. The scheme is primarily aimed at addressing the long-standing local concern over the damaging effect of heavy goods vehicles on residential and rural roads throughout this large area of the Vale of Belvoir. In particular with respect to vehicles travelling through the village of Harby to serve Langar Industrial Estate, Nottinghamshire.

10. The problems were exacerbated some years ago when Nottinghamshire County Council introduced a weight restriction to protect villages in that County from the impact of traffic. Details of this scheme are shown as Appendix B to this report. The net effect of this scheme was that vehicles can now only access and egress Langar Industrial Estate via Langar Lane, which sits within Nottinghamshire or via Harby Village which is in Leicestershire.

11. The scheme, which has now been consulted upon has been designed to control lorry movement in this area and to protect Harby Village from this traffic. It would also ensure that heavy goods vehicles servicing Langar Industrial Estate do so via the most direct route from the major road network. (i.e A52)

Consultations

12. There have been wide ranging consultations into the scheme which have included adjacent County and District Councils, all Parish Councils directly affected by the scheme, the Chief Constables of all three authorities, together with the relevant Fire and Ambulance Officers and a wide range of umbrella organisations representing both the haulage industry and other interested parties.

13. A well-attended public exhibition was held in Harby Village Hall and the scheme was also publicly advertised both on site and in the local press.

Outcome of Consultations

14. There was widespread support for the scheme as indicated in appendix C to this report.

15. There were, however, 12 consultees who did not support the scheme whilst Nottinghamshire County Council and the Highways Agency support the principles of the scheme but object to one element, namely the prohibition of access through the centre of Harby Village to Langar Industrial Estate.

16. The main objections were from Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottinghamshire Constabulary, the Highways Agency, Langar cum Parish Council and the Freight Transport Association.

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Response to the Key Issues Raised

17. Issue – raised by Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottinghamshire Chief Constable, Highways Agency and Langar cum Barnestone Parish Council.

Their objection relates to the imposition of a weight restriction on the route through the centre of Harby to Langar Industrial Estate. Their objections may be summarised as follows:-

(a) They consider that the road from the A52 trunk road at Bingham to Langar Industrial Estate is unsuitable for the present usage and additional traffic would cause further suffering to residents. (b) There would be an increase of non-compliance with the existing weight restrictions within Nottinghamshire. (c) It is predicted that 1800 HGV’s a week would be diverted onto the Langar Lane. (d) Additional heavy goods traffic would be required to use the A52 and Langar Lane, which have existing road safety concerns. There is particular concern regarding the A52 junction with Langar Lane where conditions are currently being investigated by the Highways Agency.

Comments

a) Several years ago Nottinghamshire County Council introduced a weight restriction to protect villages adjacent to Langar Industrial Estate from the use of village roads by heavy goods vehicles servicing premises on this site. The net effect of this restriction is that the only permitted routes to the Industrial Estate are either Langar Lane or via roads within Leicestershire including Harby Village.

The existing route used by heavy goods vehicles within Leicestershire to access Langar Industrial Estate passes through the centre of Harby village and has caused concerns for residents over many years. The roads have terraced housing with narrow footways and on-street parking. Instances of buildings being struck have been recorded. The few houses on Langar Lane in Nottinghamshire are set well back in comparison to those in Harby. It is considered that any displaced vehicles will not significantly add to the overall effect of this traffic.

b) When weight restrictions are introduced by Leicestershire County Council a number of measures are used to make the prohibition as self-enforcing as possible. These include advisory and mandatory signing, provision of route maps to local operators, press releases and after scheme monitoring. Such practices have lead to the successful introduction of numerous schemes requiring little or no Police enforcement. Observations undertaken within Nottinghamshire have suggested that signing to and from the Langar Industrial Estate from the A52 trunk road could be enhanced. If a comprehensive system of both mandatory and advisory signing were to be installed within Nottinghamshire in particular on the A46 and the A52 there would be better compliance with the existing orders because drivers would have a clear path to follow.

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c) A 12-hour two-way manual traffic survey undertaken by Leicestershire County Council showed that just over 100 heavy goods vehicles servicing Langar Industrial Estate travelled through Harby during this period. This would suggest that the number of heavy goods vehicles displaced onto Langar Lane would be in the order of 500/600 each week. It is therefore difficult to understand how Nottinghamshire County Council have predicted that 1800 heavy goods vehicles would be displaced each week, particularly when this statement has not been supported by relevant traffic survey data.

(d) Whilst the concerns over displaced traffic are appreciated, it is considered that the A52 trunk road is a far more suitable route for heavy goods vehicles than the minor rural roads in Leicestershire and particularly the narrow residential roads through Harby. Whilst the road from Bingham to Langar may not be ideal, Nottinghamshire County Council have advised that works have been undertaken and as it has been the main access route to the industrial site for many years it should be managed accordingly

Further dialogue with Nottinghamshire County Council

18. Officers of Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire have met on several occasions to explore all options and recently a meeting was held which was attended by the Cabinet Lead Members of both authorities to discuss the issues.

19. The meeting allowed respective views to be expressed and issues raised by Nottinghamshire County Council included road safety together with potential improvements to Langer Lane, environmental impact on Langer village, increased emissions and additional operating costs for businesses located on Langer Industrial Estate.

20. In essence the key basis of the objections relate to the poor accident record of the section of Langar Lane within Nottinghamshire which would take extra lorries leading to an alleged risk of increased accidents.

Response to Nottinghamshire County Councils’ Concerns

21. The length of Langar Lane within Nottinghamshire runs through predominately open agricultural land and passes a small number of residential properties on the edge of Langar Village. The road has a poor horizontal alignment and is narrow in places, particularly at several tight bends.

22. As stated earlier approximately 10 years ago Nottinghamshire County Council introduced a weight restriction scheme to protect villages to the east and west of Langar Lane from the impact of heavy goods vehicles servicing the industrial estate. The net effect of the scheme was to leave only Langar Lane available from the north and the road through the village of Harby from the south.

23. Recent 12 hour traffic surveys have shown some 430 heavy goods vehicles travelling on Langar Lane between the A52 and Langar Industrial Estate whilst the flow through Harby recorded was 116 heavy goods vehicles. If all of this traffic displaced onto Langar Lane it would represent an increase of 27% in heavy goods vehicle flow.

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24. Data supplied by Nottinghamshire County Council indicates that during the 3 year period 1998/1999/2000 there were 21 personal injury accidents on the length of Langar Lane between the A52 and the Industrial Estate, which is a distance of 5 miles. One of these accidents involved a heavy goods vehicle over 7.5 tonnes. It should be noted that goods vehicles below this operating weight would be excempt from the Order and therefore able to use their current routes to access the Industrial Estate. In the period 2001/02/03 the total figure has fallen to 12 personal injury accidents of which two involved heavy goods vehicles. There are a similar number of personal injury accidents involving heavy goods vehicles on roads within Leicestershire that would see a reduction of such traffic if the scheme were to be implemented as proposed.

25. During 2004 Nottinghamshire County Council implemented a Local Safety Scheme to address its road safety concerns on Langar Lane and these comprised relatively low cost improvements to signing and lining. If this length of road were within Leicestershire, given the current heavy goods vehicle usage, it would justify localised widening and strengthening, particularly on the tight bends.

26. The route from the A52 to the Industrial Estate only skirts the village of Langar with a small number of houses on one side of the road only. All have driveways, the carriageway is kerbed and there is a good standard footway. The heart of Langar village is protected from heavy goods vehicles accessing the industrial estate by the weight restriction previously introduced by Nottinghamshire County Council. In contrast the route currently used by heavy goods vehicles accessing the Industrial Estate via roads within Leicestershire passes through the centre of the Village of Harby, where roads are narrow and there is considerable on-street parking.

27. With the exception of journeys from the additional distance travelled by heavy goods vehicles servicing the Industrial Estate if the restriction were to be implemented as proposed would all be significantly less than four miles. The additional journey from Melton Mowbray is less than 8 miles. However, with heavy goods vehicles remaining on the high speed A46 and A52 trunk roads for a greater distance it is likely that the fuel used and hence emissions produced would be less than when they are travelling on low speed rural roads.

28. The available information has been obtained from classified manual counts and no “origin and destination” data is available. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate the additional mileage which vehicles would have to travel if the weight restriction proposed through Harby is implemented

29. Issue – raised by The Freight Transport Association and several businesses located on the Langar Industrial Estate.

Their objections relate to the financial impact of the increased mileage, increased vehicle emissions, the consequential effect on the environment and the negative impact on the local economy and their jobs. They are also concerned that drivers will be unable to find their way round the restrictions if multi-dropping.

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Comments Undoubtedly any weight restriction can have financial implications for traffic which travels on unsuitable roads to access premises. However, the main aim of Leicestershire County Council Lorry Control Plan is, wherever possible to restrict heavy goods vehicles to the major road network with them then being directed to premises via the most appropriate route available. As stated previously many goods vehicle operators have found this policy to actually produce financial savings in their operations, even though the alternative route may actually show an increase in distance. Leicestershire County Council has a great deal of experience in the signing of lorry controls and there have been very few instances where drivers have expressed difficulties in negotiating such restrictions.

30. Issue – raised by residents of

Requests have been received to leave several more roads in the area unrestricted as they serve local industrial businesses premises.

Comments The aim of these proposals is to reduce the use of minor and village roads as through routes, whilst not adversely effecting the relatively small daily movements to and from various local businesses and farms. Whilst various roads could be excluded from the zones experience has shown that drivers can become confused as to the correct routes to use. As such extensive signing schemes have to be installed which can be detrimental to the area. It is therefore considered that no alterations should be made to the zones and low key signing be installed where appropriate. This approach to dealing with local businesses has been supported by the relevant Parish Councils.

31. Issue – raised by residents of the Vale of Belvoir who live on roads which will remain available for use by heavy goods vehicles if the scheme is implemented as proposed.

Residents feel that traffic will divert onto the unrestricted roads and that these roads are too dangerous for this traffic.

Comments These roads have been left unrestricted as traffic surveys have shown that whilst they are not regularly used as a through route, local goods vehicle operators do use them to access and egress their operating centres. If these roads were to be included in the restriction over 100 vehicles would be legally entitled to enter the restricted area, thus making enforcement difficult. Therefore proposing the scheme as separate zones ensures that maximum benefit will be gained for local residents, there will be minimum impact on local operators and through movements will be easily detected thus enabling appropriate enforcement action to be taken.

32. Issue – raised by residents of the Vale of Belvoir who live on roads which will remain available for use by heavy goods vehicles if the scheme is implemented as proposed.

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Comments All requests for the introduction of traffic calming measures have been assessed and are included in a list of almost 300 similar sites which are awaiting funding. Current programmes are fully committed and with the number of schemes competing for the funding available each year it is unlikely that measures at these sites will be introduced in the near future. Nonetheless, when funding does become available for the introduction of measures at these sites full consultations will be undertaken with the local community.

It should be noted that traffic calming measures have recently been introduced in which sits on route A607. This forms part of the alternative route for this restriction and similar measures for , which is on the same road, are included in the 2005/06 Capital Programme. A Local Safety Scheme has also been implemented on the A607 between Melton Mowbray and the Lincolnshire Boundary and this has resulted in major improvements to the signing and lining of the route. Sections of this route have been included in the programme of mobile speed cameras. Additionally, other schemes on the A606 between and Melton Mowbray, including works to Broughton Hill, have been recently been implemented and others are included in the 2005/06 Capital Programme.

33. Issue – raised by a resident of the Vale of Belvoir

The objection relates to the plethora of signs that would be required to implement the scheme in an attractive rural area.

Comments The signing works will be designed to achieve maximum impact whilst taking account of the rural nature of the area. The normal legal requirement for a weight restriction is to erect two mandatory signs, one either side of the road. However, following discussions with the Chief Constable, who is sympathetic to the rural nature of the area it has been agreed that at most junctions only one mandatory sign will be required for enforcement purposes. If the scheme is approved the opportunity will be taken to review the signing in the area and to ensure that it is the most appropriate and efficient possible.

34. Issue – raised by the National Farmer Unions

It has requested the following amendments to the wording of the Order:-

(a) The word ‘access’ be included (b) The exemption for harvesting be changed to ‘agricultural’ to allow for vehicles to be exempt all year round.

Comments (a) As the word ‘access’ has such a loose legal definition, it would be easier for drivers to violate an Order with it included. As such none of the weight restrictions in Leicestershire carry this exemption.

(b) It is recommended that, if the order is approved, the word ‘harvesting’ be changed to ‘agricultural’ and the effects of such an exemption be monitored.

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35. Issue – raised by residents of Bottesford and Normanton

The proposals should be extended to include Bottesford and Normanton which suffer the passage of vehicles every day travelling through these villages to either access the A1 Trunk Road or the Roseland Industrial Estate at Normanton.

Comments Negotiations with Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire County Councils have been ongoing for some time with a view to formulating a suitable weight restriction to address the longstanding problems in this area. Officer agreement has now been reached on a proposal and consultations are now almost complete. This scheme has been included in the 2005/06 Capital Programme of Integrated Transport Schemes.

Equal Opportunities Implications

36. There are no discernible equal opportunities implications.

Conclusions

37. Notwithstanding the objection from Nottinghamshire County Council to the element of the scheme which proposes the imposition of a weight restriction to protect the village of Harby from the impact of heavy goods vehicles accessing Langar Industrial Estate, it is considered that the scheme would generate an overall net benefit. It is therefore recommended that this scheme as set out in Appendix A be implemented at the earliest opportunity and that the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste Management be authorised to continue the ongoing dialogue with Nottinghamshire County Council in an attempt to ensure that appropriate measures are implemented on Langar Lane.

Background Papers

Relevant papers on Department of Highways, Transportation and Waste Management File No. 5121

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APPENDIX C Consultees with Support or not objecting to the Scheme

1. Mr B Chapman, C.C. 2. Dr M O’Callaghan, C.C. 3. Mr J B Rhodes, C.C. 4. Lt. Col. P. Roffey, C.C. 5. Lincolnshire County Council 6. Melton Borough Council 7. Asfordby Parish Council 8. Grimston Parish Council 9. Broughton & Old Dalby Parish Council 10. Asfordby Parish Council 11. Clawson, Hose & Harby Parish Council 12. Parish Council 13. Waltham Parish Council 14. Eaton Parish Council 15. Belvoir Parish Council 16. Barkestone, & Parish Council 17. Parish Council 18. Bottesford Parish Council 19. The Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce & Industry 20. National Farmers Union 21. Road Haulage Association 22. The Automobile Association 23. UKASTA 24. Leicestershire Constabulary 25. Lincolnshire Constabulary 26. Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service 27. Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service 28. East Midlands Ambulance Service 29. Lincolnshire Ambulance Service 30. British Motor Cyclists Federation Ltd 31. Melton Borough Access Group 32. Borough Council 33. Traffic Commissioner 34. Chamber of Commerce & Industry 35. Federation of Small Businesses 36. Trent/Barton Buses 37. The Environmental Group, Consignia Legal Services 38. Royal Mail

In addition 39 residents supported the scheme following the exhibition in Harby Village Hall and the public advertisement of the proposals. In summary this gives a total of 77 representative organisations or individuals supporting the scheme.

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