Lorry Watch Scheme given green light

Valley Road.

Volunteers are needed to support a Lorry Watch scheme. Can you help?

As many of you know, Valley Road, which runs between Chilton Corner and the A134 is subject to a weight restriction. Unfortunately this is regularly flouted.  This is the source of irritation to many residents in Great Waldingfield, Chilton and Newton who have to suffer heavy lorries, ignoring the law, rumbling through the community to take the short cut.

Well help is now at hand.  Thanks to quite a long period of lobbying, both at the Safer Neighbourhood Team meetings and elsewhere, Trading Standards have agreed to help us to set up a Lorry Watch Scheme for Valley Road.

This means that lorries will be monitored as they drive along the road and the numbers of overweight vehicles will be noted and forwarded to the authorities.  The initial response from Trading Standards is a letter advising the owner of the vehicle that his lorry has been spotted.  If the lorry is reported again he receives a formal warning and on a third offence he will receive a summons.   

These schemes are very effective.  It is very unusual for a driver who receives an initial notice to be caught again, and a prosecution is rare.  Lorry drivers’ livelihoods are at stake here and normally just being spotted shakes them up sufficiently to ensure that they don’t risk being caught twice.

Given the whereabouts of the road we hope that this can be a joint venture between residents in Great Waldingfield, Chilton and Newton.  We already have some people who have agreed to help, but we could do with a few more. Training is simple and only takes an hour or so and we hope to organise a session towards the end of October.   

 If you think you can spare an hour or so every so often to participate then please get in touch with me by e mail (antillj@btinternet.com) or phone 01787 378310, or alternatively with Peter Clifford, Chairman of Chilton Parish Council on 01787 371798.