Trucks out of Town Facebook page aims to keep heavy lorries out of Eye

A website wall of shame is being built in the hope of steering heavy lorries away from Eye.

Huge vehicles squeezing through narrow streets are an everyday sight, campaigners complain.

Buildings are struck, wing mirrors knocked from cars and lorries meeting in the tightest spots are a danger to pedestrians when they drive over footpaths to get by each other.

But the worst-affected residents living in Castle Street and Lowgate Street hope that companies can at least be encouraged to cut down their journeys through the town.

A new website called TooT – short for Trucks out of Town – has been set up and the pressure to limit heavy traffic is supported by Eye mayor Jane Hudson.

“It is a brilliant point they are making,” she said. “Massive lorries are going through the town and it is only going to get worse.”

“Nobody wants to stop or hinder successful businesses, but it is also a matter of trying to find a way of preserving Eye,” said Mrs Hudson.

Eye was coming under pressure from vehicles making their way through to reach factories on the Stradbroke side of the town and Mrs Hudson understood that more industrial development was planned in that area.

The town also faced the prospect of deliveries from that direction going through Eye to get to the chicken processing factory under construction on the airfield.

Mrs Hudson said that inquiries were being made with Suffolk county highways about imposing a weight limit, but there would be implications about the costs which would fall on the town council for making a traffic order.

The TooT campaigners would like the 7.5 tonne weight limit in the town extended to include the Kings and Abbey bridges, but recognise this could have an impact on businesses whose vehicles were heading for the A140 main lorry route.

They hope that transport companies can be persuaded to limit journeys to essential deliveries only and county highways can upgrade roads to make them better suited for the heavy lorries.

They also hope to reinstate a “lorry watch” group to report lorries which break the rules and invite anyone seeing vehicles driving on to pavements or manoeuvring round the Bank and Castle Street corners to submit pictures to order to build up an evidence file.