Potential ban on larger HGVs using A1092 between Sudbury and Haverhill welcomed by campaigners

A proposal to restrict larger HGVs from passing through the centre of Clare towards Haverhill has been welcomed.

Suffolk Highways is consulting on a proposal to restrict HGVs over 7.5 tonnes from using the westbound A1092, road that that begins in Long Melford, near Sudbury and passes through Cavendish, Clare (including the bend at The Bell Hotel) and Stoke by Clare before ending in Baythorne End.

Some vehicles above 7.5t would be exempted, including deliveries, buses, refuse collections and agricultural vehicles.

The proposed HGV restriction would extend from the A134 Long Melford bypass to the Essex boundary at Baythorne End and diversions put in place, with signage put up for lorry drivers.

A Suffolk Highways spokesperson said: “Due to a history of issues and concerns raised by the local community along the A1092, regarding HGV traffic, Suffolk Highways is consulting with local councillors and key Suffolk and Essex stakeholders on a potential westbound HGV weight restriction (7.5t) on the A1092.

“A wider consultation will be undertaken with local businesses and haulage companies pending the outcome.”

Rob Eyre, the chairman of Clare Town Council, said: “The TRO in one form or another has been bubbling around for many years now, and I know one of our residents gathered a petition of over 3,000 signatures to support it in the first place.

“The initial plan for an Experimental TRO, which would place a weight limit on the road in both directions has always foundered on the refusal of Essex County Council, to allow signs to be placed at Baythorne End warning of the restriction, this is the only 200 yds of the road that is in Essex but it does enable them to block progress.

“After years of back and forth a new plan has been formed which will put in place a permanent TRO starting from Long Melford and heading west to Baythorne Bridge (the current consultation) with an eventual aim of a two-way implementation.

“Clare Town Council fully support the ETRO. The issue of HGVs using the town is one that generates a lot of feeling, building strikes and congestion around the Bell Inn corner and Well Lane are fairly common and quite frankly sitting in Honey Hill in the evening, when an articulated lorry negotiates the corner is quite terrifying.

“We welcome the fact that Suffolk Highways have come up with a plan that finally gets the project underway even if it is not yet the complete solution.”

David McIver, who has lived at Baythorne Mill, on Mill Road (the A1092) in Baythorne End for 38 years, has long campaigned for safety improvements to the road near his home, which faces a bridge with a narrow single lane highway with priority for traffic travelling from Suffolk to Essex.

Mr McIver said the proposal has strong support from Mill Road residents, adding: “We would similarly support an ETRO in the opposite direction, were it to be introduced.

“The resultant reduction of approximately 50 per cent in heavy vehicles using this route would have a material impact on safety and ease of passage for other vehicles.

“The Baythorne Bridge is particularly hazardous for pedestrians and is used by schoolchildren daily.

“A reduction in heavy traffic would have a very material impact on bridge safety, as well as reduce the wear and tear on the road surface.”

If a traffic regulation order is introduced, HGVs travelling north on the A134 will be diverted via Bury St Edmunds, A143 Haverhill and A1017 Sturmer.

HGVs travelling south on the A134 will be diverted via A131 Sudbury, A1124 Halstead, and A1017 Sible Hedingham. HGVs approaching the A1092 from side roads will be diverted westbound along the A1092 towards A134 Long Melford.

To complement the westbound A1092 restriction, a southbound HGV weight restriction (7.5t) will commence at the B1063 junction with C676 Poslingford Corner, Clare. Advanced signs will be erected on the A143 Stradishall to warn HGV drivers of the restriction within Clare.

Formal representations, specifying the grounds on which they are made, must be sent to LHB@suffolkhighways.org or by post to: LHB and Minor Works Team, Suffolk Highways, Phoenix House, Goddard Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 5NP by Monday, December 9.