Anger as lorries ignore Hucknall bridge diversions

Hucknall district councillor Mick Murphy was seen 'berating' truck drivers after discovering they were taking illegal shortcuts around Hucknall.

Diversions in place for the Station Road bridge works being carried out by Network Rail have pushed lorry drivers to take short cuts from the long detours, it is claimed.

Councillor Mick Murphy, Ashfield District Council member for Hucknall North, said he was driving through the town’s Vaughan Estate recently when the traffic was disrupted by a row of five lorries cutting through Hayden Lane – leading him to get out of his car and give them what he called “a right earbashing”.

He said he has received hundreds of complaints from residents and has now urged police to enforce the weight restrictions in place in the area by handing out fines.

Coun Murphy said: “It started to get confrontational, and I said ‘don’t come back down here again’.

“If I could have made him turn around and go back I would have done.

“There’s a weight limit for a reason – and these drivers know perfectly well they shouldn’t be down here.

“They can’t palate the diversions, so they’re using this as a rat run.

“Opening up Linby and Papplewick would have made it a bit easier for them.”

Heath Phillips, principal coordination officer for Via East Midlands, which is managing highways services on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We are aware of residents’ concerns and appreciate that when traffic has to be diverted there will be some impact due to different traffic patterns.

“The diversion is unavoidable and must remain in place until the bridge has been rebuilt and opened to traffic, which is scheduled to be on October 20, 2016.

“If it’s the case lorries are using Hayden Lane and contravening the weight restrictions, then we will look at taking action to enforce these restrictions.”

Councillor Alice Grice, Nottinghamshire County Council member for Hucknall, said: “We’re aware of the incidents with residents complaining, especially along Moor Road in Bestwood and Papplewick Lane in Hucknall.

“We’ve looked across every possible diversion route and there isn’t really any other way.

“The impetus is on the drivers to respect the diversions and we ask them to follow the routes in place and not cut through the Vaughan Estate.”