Heavy vehicles to steer clear of Flockton Village
Vehicles over a certain weight will soon have to steer clear of roads going through Flockton Village – or face enforcement action.
What is the current weight restriction?
A 7.5 tonnes weight restriction to various roads in the Flockton, Emley and Middlestown area has been in place since 1971 to reduce the amount of heavy goods vehicles.
Increasing numbers of heavy good vehicles
In recent years, police have been unable to enforce against the increasing numbers of heavy good vehicles travelling through Flockton Village on Barnsley Road, despite road signs informing drivers of the restriction.
Why hasn’t the police been able to enforce against the increasing numbers of heavy good vehicles?
This is due to the order needing updating, with more clarity needed around which vehicles are exempt from the restriction. We have now worked with police to reword the order, making it easier to take action against those who breach it.
Have local residents had their say?
At a Cabinet Committee meeting on 9 April 2019, the objections and concerns of local residents were considered. A number of residents raised objections about access exemption for certain vehicles, including those accessing buildings adjacent to that length of road and those delivering or collecting goods.
However, Cabinet ruled that certain exemptions would have to remain in place.
Karl Battersby, Director of Economy and Infrastructure at Kirklees Council, said:
“In recent years police have been unable to enforce this order so our work with them to rewrite it, making it fit for use, will prove invaluable for the community.
Enforcement will deter heavy goods vehicles drivers from using the route illegally, which will benefit all pedestrians in the village, in particular those children walking to the school which is in the centre of the village.
In order for this to work we do have to have exemptions for certain vehicles. Without this other traffic and access issues will be caused. We’ve worked closely with police on this order and they’re fully supportive of our proposals and are now prepared to enforce them.”
The order will be implemented in the coming weeks.
Far better to penalise, fine and make easy money rather than spending money on making HGV access better for everyone!
This is great news for the residents of Flockton. Will you publish the reworded order or a link to it on the council website & in local press once it is in action so that members of public who live in Flockton or regularly drive through can be aware of which vehicles are exempt.
This way those people can help the continued enforcement by recording/photographing details of offenders vehicles along with the date/time. Passing this on to the Police may lead to action being taken after the event by the driver/ company being traced & reported for summons, especially if they are persistently ignoring the restriction. It can also assist more targeted enforcement at certain times/days…because as we all know Police resources are limited & will not be able to sustain enforcement over a long period.