Skip lorries ban cannot be enforced – residents

Around 40 people attended a packed open planning meeting at Beau Sejour yesterday afternoon.

The resumption of the deferred meeting saw the Development & Planning Authority vote to allow 16 storage units and two open yards at Domarie and Avondale vineries in Oatlands Lane.

However the deputies backed enforcing a 3,500kg weight limit and 3.35m wheel base limits on all vehicles using the site and removed an exception which would have allowed a stonemason to use a skip lorry.

The two-hour meeting saw nearly a dozen islanders speak to object to the project on road safety grounds.

One of them was Peter Symes. Afterwards he said he was still totally against it.

‘What gets me is the uncertainty over what might be going in there,’ he said.

‘We don’t know what kind of business they will be.’

Many residents were concerned that the ruling blocking skip lorries would be unenforceable, as would other conditions, like operating hours.

Mark Neville has lived in the area for 25 years and said he did not feel the politicians had listened.

‘I think this result was predictable and it was always going to pass, whatever the residents said,’ he said.

‘We just wasted two years writing letters, having meetings and they have not taken any notice.’

The meeting heard how vehicles exiting the site either had to cross the road onto the cycle path or deal with a blind spot. Mr Neville said the condition to stop skip lorries using it would not help.

‘It’s still not safe, whether it’s a Ford Fiesta or a skip lorry,’ he said.

‘And how will they police it?’

The quiet road has become the centre of debate due to its size. It is a narrow road and is one-way. There is a painted cycle path, which allows cyclists to go against the one-way system.

One of the concerns raised was that vehicles exiting the site quickly would focus on vehicles coming from the right along the one-way system, and not check to the left for cyclists and pedestrians.

Chris Robinson argued that this was not the right decision.

‘There are still going to be large vehicles using the site,’ he said.

‘There are larger vehicles than skip lorries and they will have to come out onto the cycle path.’

DPA president Dawn Tindall and members Alderney representative Alex Snowdon and Deputy Lester Queripel heard the discussions as they had sat on the original meeting.

They focused on how currently there was no restrictions as to what sort of vehicles used the horticultural site, which had previously been used for commercial growing.

Deputy Tindall said approving the application would lower the risk to road users.

The planners said they could send challenge and compliance notices if the conditions were breached.