Resident fury at IFA2 lorries '˜putting schoolchildren at risk'

Gosport Borough Councillor Stephen Hammond has filed a formal complaint to Fareham Borough Council after IFA2 site vehicles were seen driving along Carisbrook Road and Tukes Avenue – breaching planning conditions.

The vehicles are being used for on-site preparations for the IFA2 building – with work currently ongoing to create the crane pad, lay the foundations and piling, as well as setting up the site compound.

These vehicles are only allowed to use Newgate Lane to get to Daedalus Airfield in Lee-on-the-Solent.

Cllr Hammond says that he experienced a near-miss himself with one of the lorries. As a result, he fears other motorists and pedestrians could suffer the same fate.

He said: ‘I ended up coming face-to-face with one of these lorries last week, and was forced to take avoiding action.

‘I’ve had another resident get in touch with me about a similar incident.

‘It is a blatant breach of planning conditions and is incredibly dangerous, especially given that Woodcot Primary School is on the road.’

Jason Brodie-Browne, 45 from Lee-on-the-Solent, said: I think it’s very dangerous considering you have the school here.

‘You have no crossing points and everyone whizzes through here, so lorries would put the schoolchildren at risk.’

Reg Land, 66 from Gosport, said: ‘If those lorries came out at the same time as the kids finished school, there certainly could be an accident.’

A parent from Woodcot Primary School, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘It does worry me that lorries have used this road.

‘At parts of the road you can’t see round the bend, and I doubt they could stop in time if a child was crossing.’

Fareham Borough Council says that action has been taken to prevent this from happening again.

A spokesman from the council said: ‘Our planning team was contacted last week with concerns about IFA2 construction lorries using residential roads in Gosport, rather than Newgate Lane to Peel Common roundabout.

‘We contacted National Grid to report these concerns and to remind them of the requirements for contractor’s vehicles as specified in the planning application.

‘Following this, National Grid met with the site team to ensure their drivers understood their responsibilities and knew the agreed routes for accessing the works.’

A spokesman on behalf of National Grid IFA2 said: ‘As part of our planning permission to deliver IFA2, we have agreed a Construction Traffic Management Plan with the local planning authority, Fareham Borough Council, and the local highways authority, Hampshire County Council.

‘Working with these authorities, we keep this plan constantly under review.

‘The Construction Traffic Management Plan sets out agreed procedures and routes for construction traffic, including types of deliveries, routes, and times.

‘We’ve worked with Fareham Borough Council, Hampshire County Council and the local community to identify routes to develop a plan which is considerate to our neighbours.

‘We take proactive steps to ensure that our contractors and sub-contractors work within the agreed Construction Traffic Management Plan. Delivery routes are written into sub-contracts, and all drivers are briefed and issued maps with the routes.

‘Where we are made aware of a potential compliance issue, we investigate and take enforcement action.

‘We also work with people in the communities where we’re building to ensure everyone remains safe throughout the construction period. Later this month, we’ll be hosting a series of assemblies in schools in Fareham and Gosport.

‘We’ll talk to pupils about how construction sites work, what we do to keep our staff and neighbours safe, and how they can play their part in staying safe.’