A campaign for lorry restrictions to be introduced in one town and two Suffolk villages, which has been more than 10 years in the making, could soon come to fruition.
Residents and councillors in Clare, Stoke by Clare and Cavendish, including former county councillor Mary Evans, have been calling for rules to be brought in on the A1092, with the first bid for a traffic restriction order made in 2012.
Councillor Bobby Bennett, Ms Evans' successor, has now revealed an experimental traffic restriction order (ETRO) is moving a step closer as it is now in the design phase with Suffolk Highways.
The traffic order, which would last 18 months and be monitored throughout the time with a decision on its future made at the end of the period, would see lorries restricted from using the stretch of road unless they need to drop off in one of the villages, meaning HGVs would be unable to 'pass through' without a reason.
Cllr Bennett said: "The villages have had some issues recently with big lorries. When they are going through some have been hitting buildings and damaging them.
"Really what we have got is an old medieval street scene that isn't built to cope with the size of HGVs that now use them.
"We just want to do everything we can to make the roads safer for the road users and reduce the unnecessary traffic."
Cllr Bennett said the scheme is currently being designed and, while there were some teething problems with where signage would go due to the close proximity to the Essex border, the next step will be looking at a timetable for the order.
Clare Town Council, as well as Stoke by Clare and Cavendish parish councils have helped with financing for the project.
Councillor Paul West, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for Ipswich, operational highways and flooding, said: “Officers have been working closely with the county councillor and parish and town councils to find ways of restricting large vehicles from driving along the A1092.
"I am glad to hear that works are progressing and I look forward to seeing the results.”
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