Builders have turned Telford roads into ‘war zone’

Residents at a Telford housing development claim Lorries thundering past every two minutes have made a village feel “like a warzone”, residents have claimed.

Resident Margaret Ward, councillor John Yorke and resident Carol Williams

Noisy HGVs have been transporting tons of mud for a section of the Lawley Village development, in Telford.

The route has included Station Road and Concorde for the last two weeks, just yards from Ladygrove Primary School. Previously, lorries had been using Dawley Road until the route was changed.

Residents claim it is because new houses have been built on that section and developers do not want noisy lorries to put off potential buyers.

Carol Williams, who lives in Station Road, said: “It’s like a warzone. There has been no consultation about this. We only found our because a worker knocked on my door to say they were doing a risk assessment.

“I wrote to the council on September 29 but they wrote back saying they don’t need to do a consultation. We believe it’s because they’ve built the houses in Phase 7 (Dawley Road) and they don’t want to put people off buying them. But we’ve been here and now it’s ruining our quality of life.

The development which residents say has led to a rise in noisy traffic

“Parents are concerned because it’s right by the school. It’s a major hazard to have them thundering up and down.

“It appears our council listens more to developers, considering their sales and profit needs, over equal consideration for their existing, long-term rate payers. The council’s stance is demeaning to residents.”

There has already been disruption in the road because of rocks falling off the back of lorries.”

Lorries are scheduled to be using the road up until December 20, and then will restart again in spring.

Russell Griffin, spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “It is appreciated living next to the Lawley development site causes disturbance to residential amenity. Unfortunately, developments of this scale will always cause some disturbance, as is the nature of building works.

“However, it is the council’s responsibility to ensure this is minimised and to protect a reasonable amenity level for residents and other users including issues such as highway safety during the construction of the development. The council will continue to monitor the delivery of construction. In respect of concerns regarding dust, noise and vibrations, the council can confirm planning and enforcement officers are in constant contact with all developers within the Lawley consortium and the project manager regarding these matters.

“Vibration monitoring is being reviewed on at least a weekly basis during site visits undertaken by the council’s planning compliance officer and the developers have been and continue to be reminded of their responsibilities. Planning, enforcement and compliance officers from the council have visited the site on numerous instances over the past couple of months and more frequently, and commonly on a daily basis in recent weeks and have been monitoring the extent of works being undertaken.

“Where allegations are reported to the council, these have been and continue to be investigated by council officers promptly. However, notwithstanding this, officers will continue to monitor the site as outlined.”

He also said the access road is suitable, for HGVs, and a public consultation was not a legal requirement in this case.