Herefordshire village is told it cannot ban lorries

Heavy goods vehicles on roads in the Wigmore area have been causing concern for locals, with councillors hearing from Councillor Steve Davies at a meeting of Wigmore Group Parish Council that a 'Not suitable for heavy good vehicles' sign was needed at the Elton triangle earlier this year.

But, minutes from the December meeting of the council reveal, councillors have been told by Herefordshire Council that the installation of such a sign at this location is not endorsed and, if installed, would be classed as unlawful and may be requested to be removed.

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Herefordshire Council's locality steward and traffic management team said the signs should only be used when it can be demonstrated that the road is undeniably unsuitable for such vehicles and that overuse of such signs would have less impact on drivers' perception of roads unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles.

It should also be noted that the installation of a sign of this nature does not prevent vehicles from using the lane", a Herefordshire Council spokesperson said.

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Wigmore councillors were told that it was not believed the number of heavy goods vehicles using the road is excessive, and that it was likely that drivers are deliberately using the road instead of being sent down it by sat nav, and so a sign would not stop heavy goods vehicles using the road.

"As it is believed that a sign here would not deter HGVs using the road, the provision to install an ‘Unsuitable for HGVs’ sign is not endorsed," the spokesperson is recorded in the minutes as saying.

"There is also concern in relation to the installation of the sign in relation to checking for cables and the post size. The location would need to be CAT scanned and a suitably sized post and sign be erected following post calculation design."