Town centre lorries prompting 'great concern'

Councillor Beverley Nielsen said residents were calling for traffic calming measures

Lorries driving through a town centre are causing crashes and damage to buildings, a councillor has claimed.

Beverley Nielsen, of Worcestershire County Council, said the issue in Malvern was causing "great concern" among residents.

The Labour representative said a greater focus on traffic calming was needed, including a reassessment of speed limits.

The authority said it had reduced speed limits in parts of the area and it had to take all road users' views into account.

Ms Nielsen said residents were not being unreasonable, adding that they "simply want to walk down the pavement without an HGV smashing into them".

"It's causing accidents, it's causing damage to property, and near-misses regularly with young mums, with toddlers, with elderly people," she told the environment overview and scrutiny panel.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, Conservative, cabinet member for highways, said during Wednesday's meeting the council had "reduced speeds in a number of areas".

He said residents of those areas were "only one group when you consider road speed limits", adding: "People consider the road [they live on] their road but to everybody else, it's the public highway and we must consider their needs as well."

Panel chairman Alastair Adams, Conservative, said lorry advisory routes were set up to solve a similar problem in Evesham.

He said the council worked with haulage firms to agree on preferred routes, adding that companies did take action when drivers did not follow them.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.