Village hails lorries ban

4:00pm Sunday 21st September 2008

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CAMPAIGNERS in Selby district are celebrating after the county council put up signs directing heavy goods vehicles away from their village and toward a local industrial estate.

Residents living in Moor Lane, in Sherburn-in-Elmet, have been plagued by lorries mistakenly turning up their road towards the village, breaking traffic regulations. In June, Charlie Sinclair, 71, of Moor Lane, organised a rally after collecting more than 300 signatures for his petition calling for better signs and a greater police presence to pull up lorries using the road.

Sherburn Enterprise Park is one of the largest industrial estates in the country, with drivers from across Europe making deliveries to the complex, which is to the east of Sherburn village, in Bishopdike Road.

As drivers come along the A162 bypass from the south, some have mistakenly turned left into Moor Lane, following signs for Sherburn rather than turning right into Bishopdyke Road towards the industrial estate.

Mr Sinclair said the situation was particularly bad at night when drivers realised their mistake halfway up Moor Lane then struggled to reverse their large lorries, triggering the reverse warning bleepers and waking residents. “Some nights it doesn’t happen, and then other times it can happen twice in a night. We never know when it’s coming,” he said.

But he said he now hoped the new signs would solve the problem. “As you come along the bypass from South Milford, there are now 7.5-tonne restriction signs up at the roundabout, there are some on the Tadcaster side too,” he said. “The temporary signs that were on the ground have been lifted up now. It’s been a six-month battle, but now it’s all come to fruition. This should alert these lorries coming down Moor Lane.”

Mr Sinclair said it was too early to tell if the signs were going to stop all the trucks but said: “All the signage is up to scratch now. The police should be able to take action.”