Colchester residents fed up with heavy lorries on their streets
8:10am Tuesday 20th September 2011
FED-UP residents have called for measures to stop massive lorries rumbling through their streets.
Vehicles travelling to and from Abberton Reservoir are using Mersea Road, Blackheath and Berechurch Hall Road, in Colchester.
Homeowners have complained the lorries are damaging the roads and making their lives a misery, with noise and dust.
The problem is a result of Essex and Suffolk Water’s £150million improvement scheme, which will see the reservoir increase in size by 40 per cent.
The project involves a pipe being connected to Wormingford pumping station and is expected to be completed in 2013.
David Reeve, of Blackheath, Colchester, said: “A few months ago a sewer broke and I couldn’t get out of my house for two days.”
The agreed route has been diverted temporarily while work goes on at a dam, but the new route passes close to Cherry Tree Primary School.
The disruption is likely to last until March 2012, when the lorries will use an alternative rural route through Layer-de-la-Haye.
Work on the reservoir will continue for a further year after that.
Dave Harris, ward councillor for Berechurch, said: “It is a heavily urbanised environment, with young and elderly people about.
“At certain times of day, the roads become gridlocked because of the school runs.”
Mr Harris has demanded conditions to be put on the passing lorries, including putting time restrictions on the journeys, carrying out continuing road surveys, limiting the diversion to 26 lorries each day and for vehicles’ loads to be covered up to reduce dust and load spillages.
A total of about 200 staff are employed by Carillion, which is expanding the reservoir, and Farrans, which is laying the new pipelines.
Jim Jenkins, Abberton programme manager, said: “This diversion is a temporary arrangement while we take materials to the dam there.
“We have no problem with conditions to avoid school or to cover the vehicles.
“We have applied twice before to use this alternative route and not had any complaints.”