Residents raise lorry safety fears on estate

Residents on a new-build estate in Leicestershire have raised concerns somebody could be seriously injured amid a "steep increase" in lorries passing through the development.

More trucks have started to pass through Oadby due to work on the latest phase of housing at the Cottage Farm estate.

People who live in the area claimed they had seen some vehicles travelling over 30mph (48km/h), which had caused homes to shake. One resident claimed there had "almost been a handful of collisions with children" in playgrounds.

Bloor Homes, which is behind the project at Cottage Farm, apologised for any inconvenience caused by the work, adding a 5mph (8km/h) limit was in place during the work.

Dan Snedden, who lives in the area, said: "We do hear lorries come past too early in the morning and they are driving faster than what you'd expect, considering it's a residential area."

He said it did make him feel unsafe, "especially with the amount of children that play out on the streets".

He added: "It definitely wouldn't be considered safe for them."

Hassam Khalfallah, of Jamie Marcus Way on the Cottage Farm estate, which is the road leading to the building site, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he believes lorries need to slow down.

He said: "The lorries go past really fast, they are operating all hours, I don't know why the speed is really high."

A resident who did not wish to be named added: "There has been a steep increase in trucks passing through the estate as they are working on the latest phase of housing.

"[The lorries] are driving at such speed it is shaking homes and causing a huge disruption noise wise.

"There have almost been a handful of collisions with children as the area they pass through is a children's play area and park.

"If the trucks were to emergency brake they would not be able to stop in time."

Some residents also told the LDRS they believe the speed limit, which is normally 30mph (48km/h) across the estate, should be lowered to 20mph (32km/h).

Oadby, Wigston and Harborough MP Neil O'Brien said: "Developers need to get much better at finding ways to avoid this, which often doesn't seem to be a priority for them at all.

"And councils need to use the powers they've got to set planning conditions to make sure that the impact of construction on residents' lives is minimised."

A Bloor Homes spokesperson said: "We apologise for any temporary inconvenience caused while we complete a haulage exercise to remove excess soil from the site at Oadby.

"To ensure works are carried our safely and in accordance with health and safety procedures, we have undertaken inductions with all lorry drivers, which includes no speeding on the estate, and respecting the 5mph speed limit signage.

"We have also employed two traffic marshals on the estate road whilst the works are being carried out, along with the provision of site signage and a road sweeper."

The spokesperson urged anyone with concerns to contact the company.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council confirmed it had not received any complaints about the issues raised.

A Leicestershire County Council spokesperson, addressing what needs to take place in order for a new speed limit to be installed, said: "Any requests for alterations to the speed limit would need to come from the housing developer directly to the county council."

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