Another enormous lorry stuck in the village - part 3
In the last twelve months, the village has experienced damage to property from articulated lorries using the lane through the village as a route to St Athan.
| October 2020 Villager's car |
May 2020 Church Wall |
January 2021 Posts on the Green |
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The latest was on Friday evening, 22 January 2020 when another lorry got stuck in the village - knocking over 2 wooden posts on the Crescent and blocking the exit from the village making it impossible for emergency vehicles to access properties on the New Beaupre Lane. Luckily three villagers were on hand to help. Without their intervention it was likely that there would have been considerable risk of damage to walls, structures, grass and land given the size of the vehicle and the difficulty the driver had even with their help.
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This is the latest in a long line of mishaps, damage and obstruction caused by large articulated lorries often, but not always, on their way to the Aston Martin Lagonda factory in St Athan. That is despite a sign on the A48 telling lorries not to follow SatNav. Lorries regularly come into village that cannot circumvent the narrow lanes. Most are helped by the villagers to reverse and leave the village without any damage being caused except for long delays for local drivers. These are not always recorded - the priority is help the driver and his vehicle out of the village, not to take photographs. However, documented examples include:
- In October 2020 an articulated lorry got stuck and seriously damaged a villager's car - see the end of this page for more details and the poor response from the Vale Council and elected politicians
- There were at least 4 other known instances in 2020, probably a lot more
- In April 2018 a report on traffic problems in the village, prepared by villagers, reported that at least 6 articulated lorries had been turned back by residents in the previous month
- In 2015 a large army tanker blocked a road in a village for more than three hours, damaging the Church wall www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-32346555
- In 2007 a lorry becoming stuck in the village led to the development of a sign to warn drivers not to follow SatNav, which was adopted nationally news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6959057.stm
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| 3 February 2021 | ||
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| 10 February 2021 | 25 January 2021 | |
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On Facebook 31 December 2019:
An articulated lorry just hit part of a tree into the road
leaving St Hilary towards the A48, blocking the road. We have
done our best to move the branch and cars are moving again.
Villagers think that the solution is simple - ban large lorries from the village except for access. Other options include putting a weight limit sign or an unsuitabe for HGVs sign at the A48.
However, the Council officers and members have not been helpful. In late summer 2020, the Council put a weight limit sign (for the bridge at Howe Mill) at the West House corner in the village.
However, the sign exacerbated the problem because that's where lorries stopped and tried to turn round. After a series of complaints by residents and being contacted by Llanfair Community Council, the Council took the sign down down and moved it to Howe Mill but wouldn't put one on the A48 - see below.
We have had two previous attempts to get the Vale of Glamorgan Council to take action:
- In 2018 a comprehensive report was submitted detailing lots of problems with traffic in the village. The officers did not respond so we had to make a complaint, which was upheld. The Council's eventual response was "the only approach we can suggest is that residents witnessing problems can report them to the Council and officers will endeavour to contact the companies".
- The Council was also contacted about the October 2020 incident. This is the response from Councillor Peter King, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services and Transport: ""It is extremely difficult to identify what more can be done to address your concerns, and given the existing signage provision, I therefore regret that at this time I do not consider that there is any additional warning signage that the Council could practically provide to assist further with your concerns." See the end of this page for all the responses.
This is the 3rd attempt to influence the Vale of Glamrgan Council to take action - the latest incident is in the process of being reported to the Council.
The non standard ‘sat nav ‘ warning sign by the A48 is not recognised especially by foreign drivers who will ignore it, so our aim is that it is taken down and replaced by standard highways no through road for HGVs or whatever as the current sign is next to useless for anyone who doesn’t know the background meaning to it. As one villager said after the 22 January incident "Until now I had no idea what that sign meant. It's completely useless. We need them to put something that's both more obvious and recognisable."
We need to keep the pressure on the council. So, if you see an articulated lorry in the village (even if it is not stuck), take a photograph and send it to
Responses to October 2020 incident
Neil Morre, Leader of the Vale Council
Neil Morre, the leader of the council emailed to say that he had forwarded details to the relevant officers and his Cabinet colleague, Councillor Peter King, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services and Transportation, with a request that they look into the issue.
Councillor Peter King, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services and Transport
It is extremely difficult to identify what more can be done to address your concerns, and given the existing signage provision, I therefore regret that at this time I do not consider that there is any additional warning signage that the Council could practically provide to assist further with your concerns.
Nolan Transport
The Chief Operating officer of John Raymond Transport emailed to say thank us for bringing the matter to his attention and that they will take action. They we will reiterate the importance of not following sat nav equipment into unsuitable roads. He sits on the Logistics UK Welsh Freight Council, and will raise the issue in the next quarterly meeting which will be in January.
Andrew RT Davies
The response from Andrew RT Davies' office was: "We do not run the Council so cannot compel them to do anything "
Alun Cairns
Alun Cairns did not respond.