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P LETTERS OF THE WEEK

4th December 2008
Page 17
Page 17, 4th December 2008 — P LETTERS OF THE WEEK
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Work together to support Andover development

I AM WRITING regarding "Andover airfield developer ditches Tesco contract" (CM 13 November 2008). I have lived in the Andover area all my life, and as sales director at Andover Trailers feel I have a foot in both camps For months, we had a strong STOP campaign fighting this planning application. It had supporters such as ex-transport minister Lord Howe, who has been warning everyone about 60-tonne trucks going through their villages, and Sir George Young, the local MP.

These people say the A303 will be the largest lorry park in Europe, that these trucks will go through the villages like a rat run.

Test Valley planning officers have done a good job on the application and there is no one who wants to see these trucks driving through the villages, not even the developer, so it is right that steps have to be taken to protect them. A major road scheme is proposed by the developer on the junction leading on and off the A303, which is good news for the smooth operation of commercial vehicles.

Acoustic fencing alongside the A303 is also proposed to protect residents from noise. But this is one of the major problems. The road surface on the A303 near the houses is coarse, but Hampshire County Council says there is no budget to replace it, something it has been saying for years. This problem is not the problem of the truck but the road surface.

Now we seem to have a town full of people who hate trucks and the last car park in the town where trucks could park has gates across the entrance. Last week I saw three artics were locked in overnight. Why would they do this, you might ask? Well I have been to council meetings and listened to members of the public complaining about pools of urine left in the car park after the lorries had gone in the morning, and this is with a toilet in the car park. Why should parents have to get their children out of the car into a pool of urine?

There is a planning meeting on 1 December and an active GO campaign in favour of the development. It is important for the good of the town that developer Goodman gets the green light and the development can start. But as an industry we have a little way to go to get the public on the side of road transport.

Ivan Collins Sales director Andover Trailers

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Organisations: Hampshire County Council

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