U-turn on plan to lift heavy HGV ban on Nuneaton road - but another change is approved

Claire Harrison
·2-min read
The county council dropped plans to allow 26 tonne lorries to use the bridge - but a change has been made and it came into force today (June 24)
-Credit: (Image: Google Street view)


A U-turn has been made on plans to allow 26-tonne lorries to trundle along a Nuneaton road. There was a 7.5-tonne weak bridge order in place on the Gipsy Lane Bridge.

warwickshire-county-council>Warwickshire County Council initially wanted to allow vehicles up to 26 tonnes to use the stretch of road. But a public consultation was held into the plans and this led to 30 objections and three petitions totalling 140 signatures.

Their concerns were centred around safety according to the county council, which said:"The main focus of the residents’ concern was the opening up of Gipsy Lane to HGVs etc of 26 tonne along a route with two schools," the county council said. " "The previous 7.5-tonne structural weight limit had previously prevented the use of this route by vehicles heavier than this."

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As a result, the county council abandoned the 26-tonne weight limit proposal ." But the plans to allow scrap the 7.5-tonne limit across the length of road was not scrapped altogether.

Instead, an alternate scheme was proposed. This was to:

  • Revoke the 7.5tonne Weight Limit to Gipsy Lane Canal Bridge, and the part of the road that carries it, as the bridge has recently been rated to carry 40 tonnes

  • Introduce an 18 tonne Structural Weight limit on the Wem Brook Bridge and the part of the road that carries it - approximately 18m west of the entry point to Gipsy Lane on the western side of the existing traffic island junction with Marston Lane, then in a westerly direction for a distance of 10 metres

  • Introduce a new proposed 7.5tonne Environmental Weight Limit on Gipsy Lane from its junction with Marston Lane, west, to the first junction on the new estate.

These new traffic orders came into force today (June 24) according to the county council. A copy of the new traffic orders can be found on the council's website here

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