Hundreds of HGVs breach ban through Surrey village

Councillor Catherine Powell, with residents Elliot Russo and Simon Cross, said she was worried someone could be seriously hurt

Council data reveals that hundreds of lorries are driving through a Surrey village, despite a ban being in force.

Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) weighing more than 7.5 tonnes have been banned from driving through Hale, near Farnham, since 2021.

Residents say they are worried about risks to safety on narrow roads and pavements, as well as high levels of noise.

Surrey County Council has been contacted for a comment.

Data from a mobile camera shows there were 135 HGVs recorded on Upper Hale Road on one day

There is a camera car which monitors Upper Hale Road, with penalty charge notices (PCNs) being introduced in September 2024.

Since then, there have been 14 PCNs, as well as 324 warning notices/letters, issued across Surrey for breaches of the weight restrictions.

Data from the camera shows that on a single day on 12 December 2024 there were 135 HGVs along Upper Hale Road.

Councillor Catherine Powell, from the Farnham Residents Group, said she was concerned someone would get seriously hurt if action was not taken.

"We still don't have a fixed camera in place," she told BBC Radio Surrey.

"We now have a mobile camera that comes some of the time, but it is still not here all of the time. We are still getting a lot of breaches, particularly at night now, and at this time of year, that is even more dangerous."

Elliot Russo, who lives on Upper Hale Road, said: "Where I live…there is no pedestrian crossing, so actually you take your life in your hands, just crossing the road from our house to the local park.

"With two small kids, that's terrible. With regular traffic, that's bad. With HGVs, that's really scary."

Residents are concerned about safety and noise

At a meeting on 4 February, Surrey County Council said it was planning to improve advance warning signs in the area and deploy the camera car as frequently as possible over coming months.

It said it had also recently contacted sat nav companies that provide specialist HGV navigation systems to make sure they have the information concerning the restrictions.

A Road Haulage Association spokesperson said: "Weight limits are in place for a reason so we urge lorry drivers to follow signage and directions to ensure they're using the right roads."