ARTICULATED lorries driving down Chalet Hill to access the Forest Shopping Centre in Bordon are causing concerns to residents and county councillors.
Signs directing large lorries along the A325 and Conde Way were supposed to be installed as part of the Forest Centre Integration Project - the redevelopment of the area between the shopping centre and community centre in Forest Road - but the project has been delayed for more than a year.
Because of a legal dispute, the project, which should have been completed in the spring, has still not got the go ahead.
Bordon residents have now reported their concerns to the district councillor for Whitehill (Chase) Zoya Faddy and to Whitehill and Bordon councillor Adam Carew.
County councillor Mr Carew said: "Mrs Zoya Faddy and I were alarmed to discover that large articulated lorries are still coming down Chalet Hill, rather than travelling along the A325 to access the Forest Centre via Conde Way.
"We have asked for a whole package of directional signage to be put in under the Forest Centre Integration Project. I have asked county officers to look into this again to see if we can bring this part of the scheme forward to at least get the signage for lorry traffic as a matter of urgency.
"Condition 18 of a recent development states that a scheme for off-site directional signage for the development is submitted to, and approved by, the district council in the interests of highway safety. So we have also asked district council officers to look again at the planning conditions for this area to see what, if anything, can be done."
Mrs Faddy said: "It was made very clear to East Hampshire District Council by local Liberal Democrat district councillors that when new developments were put in, that lorry access via chalet Hill was not acceptable. Now according to our residents, it's far worse than ever.
"The truth is that the Government has allowed larger and larger lorries on our roads and, whereas this may be important to large businesses in terms of economies of scale, it is vital that the powers that be also take the interests of our residents into serious consideration.
"It could be that this problem is primarily the result of lorry satellite navigation systems, so it's important that we encourage lorry drivers to travel the safer route, via the Jet Station roundabout and Conde Way rather than coming down Chalet Hill.
"We can only do this through better signage and enforcement."
Anyone with concerns about this lorry issue is asked to contact Mr Carew by e-mailing [email protected]">[email protected], or calling him on 01420 472743. Mrs Faddy can be contacted on 01962 841127.