DAMAGE to homes, the village hall, telephone lines and pavements has been caused by lorries travelling through Milverton.

And - despite the installation of new bollards along the pavements - the out-of-date weight limit and small road is still causing problems for many Fore Street residents.

The vibrations of the HGV’s have caused cracks in buildings and damaged underground telephone wires.

Large vehicles have also damaged the outside of cottages, the Victoria Rooms and the raised cobble pavements.

A resident who lives in the village said: “The extra bollards are very helpful, but these do not address the root of the problem - just the symptoms.

“The weight limit which was established for the centre of the village is decades out of date. It was set at a time when trucks were smaller.

“In short, Milverton needs a new road.

“A large vehicle backed into The Victoria Rooms and took off a corner of the entrance porch roof and guttering.

“A year ago, The Old Cottage in Fore street was damaged on one corner by a truck scraping the wall as it proceeded along the pavement.”

The resident was also concerned about the narrow pavements through the village - particularly with large volumes of traffic.

“There is, in fact, only one pavement in Fore Street and pedestrians (including children walking to the local primary school) often have to squeeze up against buildings when trucks use the pavement as extra road width,” they added.

Somerset County Gazette:

Milverton Parish Council (MPC) believe that changing the weight limit in Sand Street, Fore Street and Silver Street would solves the problem.

A spokesperson for MPC said: “HGV’s travelling to and from Wellington or the Motorway pass more than 25 listed buildings in the village, many of these buildings are of cob construction and are damaged by the vibrations caused by the HGV’s.

“Several residents have observed and are monitoring new cracks in the walls of their homes.

“In Fore street there are raised cobble pavements which have been hit by HGV’s and the cost of repair has fallen to the residents.

“In recent times the porch of the Victoria Rooms in Fore Street has been damaged by two HGV’s trying to pass each other.

“A Cob cottage in Fore Street has been hit by a huge tractor trying to navigate the village.

“BT engineers repairing damaged underground telephone lines in Sand Street said the fault was most likely caused by the weight of traffic passing through.

“This problem would be solved by imposing a weight limit in Sand Street, Fore Street and Silver Street, allowing heavy vehicles for deliveries only.

“There is a 7.5 Ton limit in place on St Michaels hill and North Street.

“The only signage relating to the weight limit is at the entrance to North Street - there is no warning on the B3227.

“There is signage outside of the village notifying traffic of the weight limit in St Michaels Hill but it is too close to the village.”

Somerset County Gazette:

Both the resident and MPC have suggested a new road through the town, but Somerset County Council (SCC) have said they will not consider this as an option, but would be happy to discuss concerns with residents.

A spokesperson for SCC said: “We thank the resident in question for raising this issue.

“Our Highways team continually monitors traffic and collision data to identify issues and we use this evidence to prioritise our limited funds on projects which enhance road safety and represent value for money.

“In this case, building a new road is not something we would consider. But we would be happy to discuss the concerns in more detail to see if other measures are required.”