Gosport road surface causes problems for residents

Residents of Elson Road, and an Eclipse bus

Buses and HGVs being driven along Elson Road, in Gosport, have caused houses to shake for two years and made some people consider moving out.

The problem occurred when new pipes were laid under the road two years ago, causing large vibrations to go right through houses.

Despite Heritage Way being built purposely for HGVs to use to get to Quay Lane industrial estate, sat navs still take vehicles down Elson Road, which awakens residents early in the morning and has even damaged properties.

First Bus services use their Eclipse models, which weigh seven tons more than a normal bus.

John Robson, 61, said: ‘It’s since they dug the road up that we’ve had the problems.

‘It’s ridiculous what time we can be woken up at. It starts at around 5.30am and can go on until midnight.

‘My house is three storeys and the higher you go up, the worse it gets. My son used to have the bedroom on the top floor and when he came home for Christmas, he couldn’t believe how bad it was.’

Nick Bailey, 57, added: ‘The buses thunder down the road and it’s dangerous considering how close Elson Junior School is.

‘We’ve contacted the bus company before and they did promise to reduce speeds – but that happened for only a few days and they went back to their normal ways.’

Gosport borough councillors Richard Earle, Sue Ballard and Peter Chegwyn, was told about the problem and after a request to Hampshire County Council, a resurfacing programme in Elson Road starts today.

Cllr Earle said: ‘We’re delighted the county council is resurfacing the road as the situation residents were living in was ridiculous.

‘They’re lowering the road by 45mm and I’ve persuaded them to use a more expensive material.’

Dervla McKay, general manager of First Solent, said the firm was aware of the situation. But she added: ‘This is the first time the issue has been drawn to our attention since our meeting with Caroline Dinenage when we visited several residents to discuss their concerns.

‘We have asked our drivers to stick to a 25mph speed limit along this stretch of road. We have also carried out random speed checks and monitored drivers’ speeds through our DriveGreen system.’