Moreton Hall residents in Bury St Edmunds call for action over HGVs cutting through estate

Concerned residents have said the long-running problem of HGVs rumbling through their Bury St Edmunds estate is getting worse – and are calling for a restriction on lorries.

Long-time Moreton Hall resident William Wicks, 77, who lives in Salter Close with his wife, said the noise and disturbance from lorries cutting through the estate was having a detrimental impact on the couple.

He said sometimes the noise would cause the house to shake, adding HGVs carrying bottles were the worst, as they would rattle loudly as they went over the mini-roundabout on Bedingfeld Way.

“We have had people here and they hear that noise and they look at you and say ‘what was that?’ because it’s so loud,” said Mr Wicks.

“We put up with it, but then why should we? I believe Suffolk County Council made a big problem.”

Lorries use Bedingfeld Way, off junction 44 of the A14, to access the retail and commercial units in that area, but residents have expressed concerns that the growing business parks to the east - Suffolk Park and Suffolk Business Park - are leading to increased HGV traffic through the estate.

Mr Wicks, who had been raising his frustrations over the situation for years, wants lorries heading to Suffolk Business Park to be restricted to using junction 45 (Rookery crossroads) of the A14 to prevent them taking junction 44 (Sainsbury’s) and then travelling through Moreton Hall.

He also believes signage needed to be improved, so lorries for Suffolk Business Park are clearly directed to junction 45.

Mr Wicks said: “I love Moreton Hall, but really the thing is, if we don’t do anything now, it’s going to get worse.”

He added: “What is the plan, Suffolk County Council (SCC)?”

A spokeswoman for SCC said it had been involved in the HGV concerns around Moreton Hall for several years.

“Recently we upgraded our Suffolk Lorry Routing Map to make it clear that A14, junction 44 and Bedingfeld Way are local HGV access routes only, serving the supermarket and retail park. HGV traffic for Suffolk Business Park should use junction 45,” she said.

“We will continue to work with West Suffolk Council on managing HGV flows in the area, but schemes do not remove HGVs from the network, as they displace them on to other, often less suitable, locations.”

SCC has made National Highways – which manages the A14 and is responsible for the advanced HGV signing on this route – aware of its recommended HGV routing.

Melanie Soanes, chairman of Moreton Hall Residents’ Association (MHRA), spoke of her frustration that ‘nothing has been done’ by SCC on the issue despite a ‘call for action’ by former councillor Trevor Beckwith in 2021 and ‘continuous noise and disruption’ to the residential area.

She said: “Residents have had to put up with it and there is a steady growth with more and more large HGVs continuing to use roads not suitable for them.

“With the mass development of predominantly warehouses, logistics and distribution centres the infrastructure is not being updated to cope with the size of these vehicles.

“There are no HGV welfare facilities which has had a huge impact on the area.”

She also wants HGV restrictions to be put in place in certain areas of the estate to protect the residents, community and the environment and said the signage around Suffolk Business Park and Bury St Edmunds needed to be ‘updated urgently’ and correct.

“With the ongoing problems with Compiegne Way flooding, the residential roads are being used as rat runs with and without the flooding. Junction 45 was promoted for the Suffolk Business Park but is not being used to the correct and full capacity as marketed,” she added.

Cllr Peter Thompson, who is county councillor for Eastgate and Moreton Hall, said he had put forward a number of ideas to SCC on the HGVs issue and is currently pushing for an overnight weight restriction on Orttewell Road. If it goes through, this would ban 7.5-tonne lorries from using the road from 10pm to 7am.

He added: “Again, I just don’t think there’s a will to deliver for people in this area.”

While agreeing junction 45 should be used by Suffolk Business Park traffic, Mr Thompson said the situation was more complex than it may seem; he said one organisation had said their heavy vehicles could not pick up enough speed to get onto the A14 westbound at junction 45, which was a safety concern.

Cllr Rowena Lindberg, a West Suffolk councillor for Moreton Hall, said she would follow up the ‘call for action’ with SCC, and also said maybe other businesses could agree – like Greene King had – for their delivery drivers to avoid the residential areas.

Mr Wicks raised the issue of HGVs cutting through Moreton Hall with his MP, Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket MP Peter Prinsley, at a MHRA meeting last week.

Mr Prinsley said: “It’s certainly something that needs investigation and I do think the residents need to be listened to.”

The websites for Suffolk Business Park and Suffolk Park say they are accessed via junction 45 of the A14.