‘I’ve not seen so many lorries in small town,’ says leader

CAMPAIGNERS say they are confident council leaders have been convinced of the need for an 18-tonne weight limit on heavy goods vehicles in Henley.

Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak, who sits on the town and Oxfordshire county councils, wants to stop HGVs from using Henley as a short cut.

Last week, he met with fellow county councillors, including leader Liz Leffman, and clean air campaigners in Henley to look at the impact of HGVs.

The meeting was part of the authority’s stakeholder conversations which would form part of an exploration of solutions to minimise the impact of HGVs in the town.

The council has said other consultations will take place with haulage industry representatives and neighbouring councils.

Cllr Gawrysiak said it is unclear what action will be taken to curb the impact of HGVs trying to manoeuvre through the town but he felt councillors were convinced a weight limit was needed.

Cllr Gawrysiak said: “The first take-out from the meeting was that they absolutely understood the problem that we have. There is a large number of HGVs coming through Henley and the Bell Street/New Street and Thames Side corners are very, very dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians so something has to be done.

“We are continuing to push that the something has to be an
18-tonne environmental weight limit to reduce the number of HGVs and at the moment we are still pushing for that.”

Following the meeting, Cllr Leffman admitted that she had “never seen” so many lorries in such a small town and was committed to finding a solution to the “pernicious” problem and praised campaign groups and Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo for their work.

She said: “I’ve honestly never seen so many lorries in the centre of a small town before.

“The issues raised by residents are absolutely clear and I want to commend HGV Watch for tenaciously documenting what is happening. Alongside Freddie and Henley’s local councillors, we are committed to working toward a solution to this pernicious problem.”

Also on the tour were cabinet member Judy Roberts, Councillor Leigh Rawlins and Henley HGV Watch leader Amanda Chumas.

They visited corners of concern in the town including pinch points at the corners of Bell and New Street and Hart Street and Thames Side promenade.

It was followed by a three-hour meeting in the town hall where Mr van Mierlo pushed for an 18-tonne environmental weight limit enforced by ANPR cameras.

Mr van Mierlo, who organised the meeting, said he was encouraged by the fact that the council leaders had acknowledged the severity of the issue.

He said he now planned on consulting with the haulage industry to design a “mutually agreeable scheme” to eliminate the rat run.

Mr van Mierlo said: “It was vital that Liz, Judy and senior officers could see the reality on the ground.

“I’m encouraged that they fully understand the severity of what Henley is facing. No one wants to hinder legitimate business access and I share the aim of working constructively with the haulage industry, but, when the M4 is congested, it is simply unacceptable for lorries to divert cross-country through our beautiful market town to reach the A34.”

He added: “I will now write to the Road Haulage Association to begin designing a mutually agreeable scheme that finally delivers the relief Henley residents have so long craved.”

Mrs Chumas, founder of Henley HGV Watch, said the meeting felt like “recognition at last”.

She said: “I was so grateful to all who came and very pleased that they all saw with their own eyes how serious this really is. Now we look forward to seeing real progress to solving this problem.”

In August, the Henley Standard reported that the county council had to update its HGV analysis report for Henley after important data had been left out.

It was found to have excluded plant vehicles, which led the report to draw conclusions which were at odds with raw data collected from its ANPR traffic survey last September.