Curse of heavy lorries continues

Weight restrictions cannot be imposed to stop heavy lorries using roads through Audlem village.

Councillor Mike Hill told Monday's night's Parish Council meeting there was no legal way to prevent heavy lorries using an A-road route.

"We cannot put a weight limit on a primary route to try and regulate traffic. It just can't be done. A weight restriction can only be used if there is something like a weak bridge," he said.

Villager Peter Oxley used the Public Forum part of the parish meeting to quiz councillors on why heavy lorries were still using the village even though the route was now de-primed.

"What has been the net effect of de-priming?" he asked. "We are still getting ludicrously large vehicles in the village and they have no respect for warning signs."

Councillors were also told of poor signage on the A51 which meant many large lorries missing the A53 turn off to Market Drayton and ending up on the A525 through Audlem, even though the route was longer.

But parish councillors pointed out that A51 signs were outside the county and villages like Loggerheads on the A53 would be unlikely to improve signs that would simply encourage more lorries on their own roads.

Parish councillor Dave Siddorns agreed it would take time for the de-primed route through Audlem to be taken off lorry sat navs and that this would help ease the situation.

"But you can't take the A525 road off the map and you can't stop lorries using it if they want to," he warned.

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