Okehampton Town Council opposed Devon County Council’s suggestion to lift the lorry weight restriction in the centre of Okehampton at a meeting on Monday (January 16).

At the meeting, councillors raised concerns that the suggestion by the county council to remoe the 7.5 tonne vehicle weight limit through the centre of town could cause severe congestion problems and a damaging environmental impact.

Councillor Christine Marsh said she ‘would be disappointed to see [the traffic] come back into the town,’ noting that Okehampton already suffered with congestion problems which would be exacerbated by heavy goods vehicles driving through the town.

Councillor Jan Goffey echoed Cllr Marsh’s concerns adding that there were still medieval buildings standing in the town which could be damaged by the vibrations of large vehicles travelling close by, while Mayor of Okehampton Cllr Bob Tolley raised the issue over the impact such a decision might have on pedestrian safety.

Cllrs Julie Yelland and Michael Ireland also raised concerns leading councillors to make the unanimous decision to write to the county council the following day (January 17) in opposition to the proposal. The clerk has already submitted the council’s response to ensure that the Devon County Council receives it before the end of the consultation period.

Previously Cllrs Michael Ireland and Tony Leech described the proposal as a step back to a time before the opening of the Okehampton Bypass, which was originally constructed to reduce congestion problems in the town.

Currently heavy goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes must travel through Folly Gate and onto North Tawton if the A30 is closed, but the suggestion would see that restriction lifted, allowing large lorries to travel along the same diversion route as smaller vehicles through Exeter Road, East Street, Fore Street, West Street and New Road.

Larger vehicles can apply for an exemption in order to use the diversion route but this is usually granted only to supermarket delivery vehicles. However, the county council’s proposal would remove the need for an exemption for any vehicle.

Devon County Council said in a statement of reasons that it was proposing the change in order to reduce administrative time and lower financial costs for National Highways and the county council.

It stated: ‘The purpose of this traffic regulation order (TRO) is to formalise weight limit exemptions that currently occur when the A30 or M5 is closed, through a temporary traffic regulation order (TTRO).

‘Therefore, it is proposed to amend the original weight restriction TROs to allow such vehicles to proceed on the diversion routes without the need of a TTRO on each occurrence, saving on National Highways and Devon County Council’s administrative time spent on the TTRO, as well as the financial costs associated.

‘The restrictions are proposed for facilitating the passage on the road or any other road of any class of traffic (including pedestrians).’