Norton Level Crossing truck ban could be permanent

At the Norton Level Crossing, a ban on trucks currently being trialed up until August 9 is predicted to become a permanent ban in an effort to reduce congestion in the area – according to county officers.

A report is being shown to councillors within the Thirsk and Malton constituency committee meeting, on the matter Highway Officers said:

“While it is acknowledged that the experimental weight restriction has created some issues elsewhere on the network, its contribution towards improvements to air quality, particularly in Wheelgate and Castlegate cannot be ignored. To revoke the weight restriction before the implications of the increased rail service have been fully appraised could be considered premature.”

During the trial run a public consultation has taken place, which received over 100 responses. 33 were in favour of the plans being made permanent, while 96 voted against the idea.

The report mentioned concerns that members of the public had with the ban – such as the displacement of vehicles onto other roads in the area that could have an impact to the safety of children at the local schools and make the situation worse for all of the drivers in the radius.

The plans for the ban were discussed at Ryedale District Council’s meeting on Thursday, in which authorities debated what their response should be to the consultation unveiled by the council. An agreement was reached that the restriction for drivers should remain in place “at least for the foreseeable future.”

Despite the authority leader, Cllr Keane Duncan, stating that the HGV ban had been a failure and would not benefit the public or air quality. In the meeting, he said:  “There is no way to draw any correlation between the ban being introduced and any improvement in air quality, we cannot possibly recommend that it should be made permanent. I worry that once this is in place it will never be looked at again and stay there in perpetuity.”

Countering his argument, Cllr Simon Thackray stated: “There is every indication that the air quality has improved as a result of the HGV restriction.”

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