Residents fear rat run is 'ruining village feel'

Villagers are frustrated with heavy traffic and speeding on the A283 through Storrington

Residents say rat runners and HGVs are making Storrington lose its “village feel”.

Locals say a combination of heavy traffic in the main high street and drivers speeding out of the West Sussex village is putting people in danger.

They also claim that HGVs ignore the recommended route network set out by West Sussex County Council and use the A283 which runs through the village.

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) said people should contact their county councillor to work collaboratively to suggest solutions.

'It’s really noisy'

“Apart from the speeding and feeling very uncomfortable walking through the centre, when you increase the speed the noise levels increase tremendously,” said resident John Loney.

“You have lorries crashing over bad roads which creates potholes.

“We have more than 500,000 vehicles coming through a month, when it’s busy people speed out of the village reaching 50mph or 60mph out of the village. We reckon about 40% of our traffic is speeding in and out of the village.”

At a demonstration on Saturday, residents gathered to “remind drivers that people live, work, play and learn here, and that residents deserve to be considered”.

Damage to a business in the high street from a lorry

Signs have already been put up asking drivers to slow down going through the village.

“We have always had a lot of traffic but with the advent of satnav it has got worse and worse. We have become a rat run," said Nigel Emery, owner of Nifty Gallery.

Mr Emery said there have been several incidents of lorries damaging historic buildings in the high street and even an occasion where scaffolding was knocked over.

Virginia Hicks, another resident, said: “It’s really unhealthy, it’s really noisy and is ruining the village feel.

“We need to discourage traffic that is using it as a rat run. Because of problems with the A27, a lot of traffic thinks it’s two minutes quicker to come this way.”

A WSCC spokesperson added: "The lorry route network is comprised of strategic and local roads recommended for use by lorries and heavy goods vehicles in West Sussex, although the council is not able to force haulage companies to adhere to it."