News | Relief road


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KENT Police have come under fire for failing to enforce a lorry ban through Leeds village, having issued just TWO tickets in past 12months.


Hundreds of trucks are believed


to be defying the weight enforce- ment signs on the A20 approaches to the B2163 eachmonth. Trucks over 17 tonnes are re-


quired to take another route onto the A274 before making their on- wards journey. Last year, Downs Mail revealed


the lorry ban had been enforced on one occasion in 2016, when seven ticketswere issued on a single day. We approached the Kent Police


and Crime CommissionerMatthew Scott for an explanation, but he claims he cannot interfere with op- erational policingmatters. Locals believe truckers have got


wise to the lack of enforcement and know they can travel from the A20 Leeds Castle roundabout through to Langleywithout a detour. Leeds parish councillor Lesley


Martin said: “I used to pass info about lorries to the Lorry Watch people but the police took ab- solutely no heed of it. A pointless exercise. Pathetic. “I was going out there in all


weathers, watching these trucks breaking the lawand ended up get- ting no support fromthe police. “I suppose the question has to be


‘why’? If the police cannot enforce the ban, then theymust tell us why


they can’t. These days there are as many if notmore British registered lorries going through the village than ever before, whereas it was nearly always foreign ones in the past. The UK drivers know it is not being enforced.” Borough councillorGill Fort said:


the volume of traffic Maidstone police commander


Chief InspectorMick Gardner said: “Officers will continue to carry out patrols in linewith emergency calls and other duties. “Since March 1, the force control


Call to enforce village lorry ban School crossing


“If it’s a funding issue, and I am pretty sure it is, then the enforce- ment will never be done. Mean- while,


increases, speeding gets worse and lorries trundle through whenever they please.” The PCC Matthew Scott said: “I


cannot interfere in operational policing or dictate where resources are placed but in setting the county’s strategic priorities I’ve made it clear that crime is important no matter where it takes place, in- cluding in rural areas and on our roads. I encourage any local resi- dents with information about vehi- cles or companies


room has been notified of a lorry causing an obstruction on only one occasion and in the last 12 months two penalty notices for £50were is- sued to drivers contravening the weight restriction. “Successful enforcement of re-


strictions on this stretch of road also depends on support froma number of partners including Kent County Council and the Driver and Vehicle StandardsAgency. Togetherwe can ensure clear signage is in place, freight companies informdrivers of the correct routes to take and sat nav devices take HGVs along suitable roads.” County councillorGaryCooke de-


regularly


ignoring the B2163 weight restric- tion to pass those details toKent Po- lice. “Kent Police does conduct proac-


tive enforcement, however issuing ticketswill not solve the issue alone; this requires all partners towork to- gether on education and engineer- ing, aswell as enforcement.”


scribed £50 fines as “laughable” and an “insult to the people of Leeds who have to put upwith a continual flowofHGVs flouting the law”. OnMay 11, Kent Police sent a pa-


trol to the area for a short time in the morningwhere a foreign driverwas fined. A flashing 20mph sign was de-


stroyed near Leeds’ village church after being struck by a lorry driven illegally, say locals.


is now ‘danger’ THE lollipop man at Leeds & Broomfield Primary School has detailed the reality of his job as cars, vans and lorries race through the village at an average of 15mph faster than the limit. Richard Jackson said he has


been astonished at themanner in which motorists conduct them- selves while driving past the school. He said: “It is an eye-opener to


the traffic and standard of driving on this road. “There are some polite drivers


who aremore thanwilling to stop. However, many commuters see this road as a link road to themo- torway and passme at speed, on themobile phone, or generally do notwant to stop. “My instructor did a speed


check outside the school and recorded an average speed of 35mph in a 20mph zone. “There are times where cars


seemto travel far in excess of this speed. A relief roadwould be fan- tastic for safeguarding the chil- dren.”


Hundreds join Langley group desperate for relief road


TWOLangley residents have teamed up to highlight traffic prob- lems on the B2163 and to campaign for a relief road. The group, set up by Liz Clarke andWendy Young (pictured left


andright)hasalreadyattractedabout200followersonthe Leeds- Langley Relief Road Action Group’s Facebook page. Mrs Young said: “The people don’t seem to have a voice and


that’s the reason for the Facebook page, to give a forumfor local people to share experiences. “WILLactandJenny Suttonledthewaywiththe signcampaign


and they’ve helped us over here.We allwant the same thing.” Mrs Young, a former Langley parish councillor, said the MBC


Local Plan, which will see 17,600 homes built in the borough in the coming years, will only serve to make a bad situation even worse. She saidtheboroughcouncil’sassertionthat “modal shift”, whichwould encourage people to ride bicycles,walk or catch the bus, is “total rubbish”. Mrs Young asked: “Howare you going to get someonewearing


a suit on a bike in the middle of winter to ride into Maidstone? It’s total rubbish. “Buses might be okay in somewhere like Park Wood where


there’s a reasonable service but not out here in Langley. “There are only two park and ride services inMaidstone – one


this side ofMaidstone and one on the other side. “Most people need to get to theM20 or the A20 and they use


the B2163 as the link fromthe A274. “Toomuch traffic goes downWillington Street, so we need to


put some transportmeasures in place to take traffic aroundMaid- stone. The relief road is imperative.Now.”


22 Maidstone June 2018


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