Consultation begins on banning lorries from Eye town centre

A six-month consultation has been launched on proposals to restrict lorries going into Eye town centre.

The move comes following cases of HGVs striking buildings and mounting pavements to negotiate their way through the town.

Suffolk County Council is proposing to introduce an experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) which would restrict lorries to only travelling into the town centre in order to service shops and businesses.

Richard Smith, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for economic development, transport strategy and waste, said: “We are keen to hear the views of the public to help us develop this scheme.

“Lorries serve an important function and we rely on the goods they bring, but we can divert from the town centre those that don’t need to be there.”

With the order, through traffic would be subject to a 7.5- tonne weight limit in Magdalen Street, Lowgate Street, Castle Street and The Rookery.

The consultation has been welcomed by Eye Town Council, which wrote to the county authority at the start of the year to express its “deep dissatisfaction” at the lack of progress on the scheme.

Eye town councillor Tunie Brandon said: “We are very pleased that the ETRO is finally being trialled. It has been five years in the making.

“We are currently working with farmers and businesses within the ward who may need exemptions from the restrictions. Our aim has always been to reduce, not eliminate, the number of lorries passing through the town.

“However, those businesses outside of the ward should look for alternative routes, including applying for exemption closer to their business, rather than the one here in Eye.

“We realise it takes time for drivers following sat-navs to realise the restrictions are in place and that driving HGVs through Eye is restricted to those picking up and delivering or to exempted businesses, therefore, our lorry watch scheme will not be reinstated until the summer, although volunteers will continue to monitor traffic.”

The public consultation, which started last week, will run for six months, though there could be a further six months depending on the level of feedback and traffic data obtained from the council’s monitoring plan.

Views can be made at smartsurvey.co.uk/s/EyeETRO. Alternatively, email them to lorry.routes@suffolk.gov.uk.

You can also contact Suffolk County Council customer services on 0345 603 1842.