Nick Helps - Transport Planning Officer from Bath and North East Somerset will define an experimental 18 tonne weight restriction of Heavy Good Vehicles at the A36 Cleveland Bridge and the implications on the A350 and Westbury. Alan Creedy, Head of Service – Sustainable Transport, Wiltshire Council will also be in attendance.
Minutes:
Nick Helps, Transport Planning Officer from Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council explained the reasoning behind the proposed experimental 18 tonne weight restriction of Heavy Goods Vehicles at the A36 Cleveland Bridge and the BANES interpretation of the implications on the A350 in Wiltshire. He explained that the BANES Council were taking this action to protect the world heritage site of Bath, improve air quality in the city and to improve the local environment and that this had occurred in consultation with the Highways Agency who had expressed concern about the signage associated with the re-routing and also the enforcement issue. Wiltshire Council expressed concern regarding the effect on Wiltshire roads in particular the A363 and A350. However Nick explained that evidence supplied by BANES suggested that the impact on the area would be an increase of 6 lorries per day.
Questions and points raised in the following discussion included:
Why has open consultation not taken place, as information regarding this has been very difficult to obtain, Wiltshire Council has had to submit a Freedom of Information request to BANES to obtain information. It was explained that this was a legal aspect not to release information relating to the proposed ban.
Alan Creedy, Head of Service – Sustainable Transport (Wiltshire Council) explained that there was a significant difference of view over the information relating to the ban. The primary concern should be whether the action to withhold information was in the public interest and the overwhelming view is that it is and that information should be readily available and accessible. It was his understanding that Dr Andrew Murrison (MP) would be taking this issue up with the Information Commission. He went on to express that he did not feel that small number of lorries that BANES had predicted would be an accurate reflection and that a longer diversion with signage compared against a short distance would not be upheld and that general conditions would dictate.
What was the age of the data being used by BANES? The data was gathered in November 2009.
Wouldn’t the A36 link road joining the A36 at Dry Arch, Bathampton be an opportunity to cure Bath of a large amount of its’ heavy through traffic? Nick explained that there was no funding and that the Dry Arch junction was not an option.
Cllr Fleur de Rhe Philipe explained that she was surprised at the use of the M32 as a preferred route and anticipated that the Highways agency would make a strong objection. Nick replied that there had been no objection in principle, Fleur went on to add that she felt that the Highways Agency would have changed their position.
Cllr Cuthbert-Murray expressed his concerns and stated that he appreciated that Heavy Goods Vehicles travelling through Bath has been a concern for many years, particularly along A4 London Road and A36 Bathwick Street and BANES local residents are concerned about the contribution made by HGVs to poor air quality, road safety issues and intimidation experienced by vulnerable road users within the Bath World Heritage Site however he stressed he was very concerned that this decision would affect his constituents especially elderly residents and homeowners on the A350 in exactly the same manner, albeit Westbury was not a world heritage site – His constituents will suffer greatly because of this decision! Surely BANES must come up with a more viable solution? He suggested that this be given consideration. He went on to explain that he thought that it would be beneficial for Westbury to undertake its own survey of HGV traffic through the town, he stated that we have established groups that he believed would undertake this kind of task and perhaps if the stats that had been provided by Banes are correct this action would corroborate their analysis and if not we have a basis to take our concerns forward.