Exchange of thoughts on HGVs

On Friday, two HGVs came through Audlem in procession, one of them a Culina truck. Inevitably, with only 12ft 6in of road at its narrowest in Stafford Street, when they met a tractor coming in the opposite direction, the village was blocked yet again.

Well used to such jams outside her house, Ann Tilling emailed Culina in Market Drayton, saying:

"Would it be possible to try to find routes other than the A525 through Audlem which has now been de-primed. Some weeks ago, lateish last year, you did agree to this, as requested by Cllr. I. Stockton in that case, to try to do so which very slightly eased things in the village centre and Stafford Street in particular.

"Recently, many have used this route again. I spoke to one of the drivers a few minutes ago when he was stuck for a few minutes outside our house while the opposing traffic used the pavement at our side and just a little bit of our approx 4' garden to pass by.

"We would be grateful. I know that sat nav aids still have our part of the A525 as a primary route.
Mrs Tilling."

Rapid replyA very short time later, to her pleasant surprise, her email was answered by the company, and an encouraging reply it was:

"Thank you for your enquiry. I have spoken to the driver concerned and he wasn't aware that he should try to avoid Audlem.
I have put a notice up the drivers rest room as a reminder of the need to avoid Audlem wherever possible. Please accept my apologies and if you wish to contact me directly, please note my details below.
Thanks
Andy Brookes
Assistant Transport Manager"

Another viewBy coincidence, or maybe not, Audlem Online received the following email from Paul, an HGV driver a few hours later. He said:

"I think the people in your village need to pipe down regarding the amount of hgvs going through your village. If hgvs are banned from every village like yours then nothing will ever get around this country and without hgvs you would have no food for your shops, no sofas or beds in your house and no fuel for houses or cars.

"As a hgv driver myself it enrages me to hear that you demand companies ban their vehicles from your village. There is no weight limit so there is not a lot your village can do!

Without trucks you have nothing."

ChatboxPaul's comment was published on the Chatbox – and attracted a number of responses. We also tried to reply directly to him but our email bounced back, indicating Paul's email address may not have been genuine. Just in case he is reading this, here's what we tried to say:

"Paul
Many thanks. Your comment is now on the Audlem Online Chatbox.

"Don't know if you drive through Audlem, or your comment was a general observation, but the issue here is that the A525 in the village centre is just 12ft 6in wide with old buildings either side. It is, by the way, a two way winding road and on a hill.

"Trucks, if they meet each other or an agricultural tractor, or even a car in the opposite direction, can block the village centre for fifteen minutes or so while the jam is sorted out. This means vehicles mounting the narrow pavements and regularly hitting buildings and the church wall. In the very middle, there is no pavement so hgvs and pedestrians are having to both use that 12ft 6in.

"Overall, it's inconvenient for everyone, particularly the hgv drivers who have much better wider and faster roads to the north (A500) and south (A53), hence the removal of the road by the Ministry of Transport from the Primary Route Network last year.

"It was hoped that informing hgv companies of the problems, and that it probably costs companies and drivers more in fuel and time trying to negotiate the very narrow streets, would be the best way forward. But your last comment indicates that the only solution is to press for a weight limit. Many thanks for your interest."

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