Residents in Gedling say they are yet to benefit from the completion of the £49m Gedling Access Road (GAR), with the amount of cars and HGVs passing through their village continuing to make their lives ‘a nightmare’.
Those living in Gedling say that Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) made a commitment to reclassify the A Road Arnold Lane to a quieter B Road once the new bypass was completed in a bid to help tackle traffic and speeding – but they say they have seen no evidence of this classification change.
A weight limit of seven-and-a-half tonnes for HGVs was also set to be introduced in a bid to encourage them to use the new bypass rather than go through Gedling Village.
Terry Lock lives on Shearing Hill and is leading the call for action.
He told Gedling Eye: “We are still getting heavy traffic through the village despite the opening of the Gedling Access Road (GAR).
“We’ve not seen any benefit following the opening of the GAR and it’s making our lives a nightmare.
“Cars are still treating Arnold Lane as a racetrack and we were assured the completion of Gedling Access Road would stop all this but it’s just not happening.
“There is also meant to be a seven-and-a-half tonne limit introduced on lorries using Arnold Lane but this isn’t being reinforced. I see transporter lorries using the road all the time and they are way over the limit. It’s not being reinforced. They need to put cameras up.
“The GAR is a great road but I’d invite councillors down to spend a day here to see that it’s not being used properly and that you are risking life and limb to get onto Shearing Hill from Wood Lane.
Villager Helen Southall shared similar views.
She told Gedling Eye she wished she had moved five years’ ago.
“We’ve been waiting years for this new road as we through it would change our lives – but it just hasn’t happened.
“They promised us the GAR would improve our lives but it hasn’t.
“Everything we’ve been waiting for just isn’t happening – we are getting the same amount of traffic through the village and we are just not benefitting.”
Gedling resident David Pick agreed the new road had made little difference to traffic in the village.
He said: “The volume of traffic is no different now to what it was before GAR.
“We were promised by NCC and various construction companies that the new Arnold Lane would be downgraded to some sort of idyllic traffic-free country road. Fortunately those of us that live around here did not believe a word of it, so we are not too disappointed.
“The emergency vehicles have started using our road again as opposed to Colliery Way and it seems so have HGVs. We had a huge car transporter go past this morning.”
Concerns have also been raised about Keepmoat Homes not opening up the road connecting Chase Farm with Colliery Way, meaning residents on the estate are still forced to use Arnold Lane to access and leave the estate – creating more traffic.
But Nottinghamshire County Council this week told Gedling Eye that the agreed actions prior to the construction of Colliery Way had now been carried out.
Gary Wood, head of Highways and Transport, said: “Upon opening, Colliery Way became the A6211. This resulted in classification changes on the wider network, including on Arnold Lane, Main Road, Shearing Hill and Burton Road (between Shearing Hill and Colwick Loop Road) which are all now unclassified roads.
“The section of Colwick Loop Road from Netherfield Retail Park to the Burton Road junction is now the B686.
“These classification changes were included in the Statutory Orders confirmed prior to the construction of Colliery Way starting, and it may take some time for maps and other information to be updated.
“All wider road signage installed as part of the delivery of Colliery Way reflects the new road numbers and classifications.”
They also confirmed the weight limit on Shearing Hill and Arnold Lane had now been introduced.
“The 7.5t weight limit has been introduced and is enforceable, and a review of wider advanced signage is underway to further support this.
“Enforcement of Weight Limits is carried out by Trading Standards and the new limits are now being enforced. It should be noted that vehicles over 7.5 tonnes can still drive into the weight limit zone if accessing premises.
“We know that residents living on the new Chase Farm development will be keen to know when access to the newer part of the estate will open, and this will be done once the roads have been adopted as public highway.”
Gedling Eye contacted Keepmoat Homes around plans to open up access from the estate.
A spokesperson from Keepmoat Homes, said: “The Colliery Way access from Chase Farm will open to construction traffic and personnel only from September.
“The access road is intended to alleviate traffic through the village and make a positive impact to the area, as all deliveries will be made via the new route.
“All residents at our Chase Farm development and surrounding areas will still travel via Arnold Lane for the foreseeable future.”
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I have read all the comments on this post regarding traffic on Arnold lane , and i must say I agree with all what has been said . I live on Arnold lane near the church as soon as the cars vans turn the bend near Avon road they must be doing 50 / 60 some are going that fast they are on the wrong side of the road . HGV,s are still using the lane and boy racers they are another story , when someone gets killed just maybe cameras will be installed , the flashing one we have now cant cope with the speeds they are doing , my opinion Arnold lane should have been fully closed of
We live on Main Road Gedling and completely agree that the traffic situation now that the new roundabout on Arnold Lane is open is back to pre-GAR days! It is all very well reclassifying but without traffic calming measures, Arnold Lane, Main Road and Shearing Hill remain ‘racetracks’ to some drivers. The county council have recently installed some ‘Its 30 for a reason’ signs but something more needs to happen to deter speeding?
You lot talk absolute rubbish , what next speed cameras , speed humps , weight restriction, ban on traffic . cost cost cost to which the tax payers fund .
For me I didnt want the GAR , stoopid idea
What a load of rubbish. Colliery way delivers imo. Yes some HGV’s are transgressing. Enforcement is needed by the relevant authorities. Car traffic is down massively.
People moan regardless. Gedling Village now experiences long periods of quiet. The roads it was meant to relieve are being relieved. Boy racers have been a problem for years. It has nothing to do with Colliery Way. Police, Notts County Council , Tom Randall all need to play their part in enforcing the regulations.
It’s much better. There is a calm now for most of the day that was not there before Colliery Way opened. These teething problems will be resolved with a few fines (£1000 to any offending HGV driver.
But this won’t happen as NCC and VIA EM are not interested in enforcement. We’re told that it’s up to trading standards and they won’t come out unless there’s a record of a minimum of 30 lorries a day using the restricted roads. Lambley lane has suffered severely with the GAR opening and signposting it as a main through route. This was never mentioned in pre-planning meetings and the ‘lane’ is also not fit for such heavy traffic use. HGVs are using Lambley Lane daily and it’s causing havoc with damage to vehicles, near misses and not to mention almost killing the poor horse and rider coming out of the stables.
Have asked Cllr Elliot to assist but he doesn’t respond. Tom Randall has responded and although it’s not his jurisdiction, he is willing to try and help.
I had an email off a coach company saying that they will use the road as they please as these ‘weight restrictions’ are not enforceable. He is right, they’re not, because no one cares!
I have lived on Arnold Lane since 1987, and as such can say no, it is you that are talking a load of rubbish. Don’t bury your head in the sand, people are not just moaning for the sake of it, their comments are correct and empirically verifiable. I have done before- and -after car and lorry counts, and I can assure you that Arnold Lane has not changed.
Counting cars and lorries sounds like much fun. What do you do on your days off?
yes you are , people wanted the Gar a road that was over budget from the start that was never going to work . A road not fit for purpose due to the amount of traffic calming ie Islands, beleive me speed cameras will be next causing more traffic to use main road and arnold lane
And to be honest I have lived in Gedling since 1984 all seems to be aimed at sheering hill and residents .
Fines for HGV there is no restrictions on traffic using Arnold as yet , will only put the cost of living up with diesal prices going through the roof .
you need to look in the mirror and a take a good look at yourselve
What a load of rubbish i live in gedling and use arnold lane regular i havent seen anyone racing or treating it like a race track in fact it does appear quiter than it used to be i believe gar is doing its job
Well being a resident for 30 years the GAR has made life impossible as we cannot use it! Some numbskull has put a no right turn on the colery way section into the old Burton road. So the busy school collection times are still extremely busy, cars now are making ‘illegal’ right turns and chaos ensues.. yes it’s not helped with all the building traffic to the new homes site, but whichever way you try to get out of Burton pastures your way is blocked. no wonder we didn’t see our councillors come down for a election boost, I for one would have told them where to put this big white elephant!
Things don’t change overnight and things like satnavs have to catch up with road changes. On the other hand, I live on Burton Pastures and I still have to drive through the village to get home because we can’t turn right at the bottom of Colliery Way. The silly bus plug is still there too, which could have been removed as part of the contract. Some idiot, presumably, thinks it might still be implemented, despite there being an entrance either side of it for the new houses down there. That’s an extra set of lights that might make some people from down here choose to come through the village rather than use the new road.
In my opinion the Gedling access road was a complete waste of 49 million pounds as a resident of Arnold lane I have seen 1st hand it has not made the slightest difference to traffic the money would have been a lot better spent on improving existing roads and filling all the pot holes Mr R Watson
I 100% agree.Turning out of Linsdale Gardens continues to be a nightmare and any “improvement” is negated by the added Chase Farm traffic.As I’ve said repeatedly the 30mph will never be adhered to because of historical speeding abuse.Road calming is the only answer.Works in Clifton and the Meadows
I am sure residents who live on the new rat-runs as a result of GAR are not at all happy, more consideration should be given to them, it is not just about Shearing Hill and the immediate residential road(s) off it or more to the point certain residents living off it. GAR does not deliver, it is always quiet because most avoid it and the bottlenecks it has created
Chase Farm need to open all their roads to Colliery Way ( New GAR) .
They need to allow a right turn on to Burton Road at the bottom of the new GAR for school traffic.
Also remove the £160,000 bus plug on Burton Road (opposite the school) which is just causing tailbacks at peak times.
Then we take a review and maybe introduce some traffic calming around the area which will push people to use the new road.
Simple!
FRANCIS, GEDLING HAS LONG PERIODS OF QUITETNESS! WHAT PLANET DO YOU LIVE ON AND YOU DONT EVEN LIVE ON THE ROADS CONCERNED.
well said indeed, more people in Gedling than Francis. The new GAR is quiet as ppl are avoiding it and the bottlenecks!
Francis Rodrigues (William Cheetham) talks a load of rubbish, loves to give out false information. We now him as the Village idiot.
“We now him…” What?
As a user of the roads mentioned to get from Arnold to the Netherfield retail park and beyond, I will use the shortest route. This is still Arnold Lane/Sheering Hill. The new access road is a white elephant unless your heading towards Gunthorpe and the A46.
I can’t say I’ve witnessed any speeding, and as for traffic calming the pot holes provide that in abundance.
Lot of folk moved to Arnold Lane KNOWING what the traffic was like well pre GAR. Should of picked somewhere quieter. Arnold Lanes always been a main arterial road- didn’t stop you moving there though eh? Chase Farm you say should be made to use the GAR? And if they need to get to Westdale Lane are they also to be denied the route via Shelford Rd? I’ve never seen boy racers, you dare not drive at speed as the roads too dangerous in that you spend all your attention on looking for the next pothole and not where your going. Old adage..shortest distance between two points? Of course they are still going to use it. Yes it’s now quieter and yes to many it’s still shorter route. That’s human nature. Crikey you’ve all had £49 million, your still moaning. Some folks roads are so bad they damage cars and don’t get a penny spent on them. Me,me,me,me,me. 7 folk bitched about no crossing at Chase Farm and wham! £125000 on a crossing no one ever uses. Well done to you all, you succeeded in destroying wildlife, carve a monstrous winding twisting road through greenbelt that will have all its gaps filled in with housing by GBC till it’s just houses as far as the eye can see from Burton Rd to Plains Rd and at two cars per house? Yep, Arnold lanes going to get even busier in years to come and as predicted…wasted £49 million.
Well said!
agree well said
It’s bizarre that anyone would think that building more miles of roads would result in fewer cars! New roads allow for more motorists to travel more freely than before, so they quickly fill up the roads until they’re busier than ever. This is especially true when thousands of new houses are added without much thought to anything other than access by car. We need to campaign for more measures to increase congestion for motorists since only that or a 10-fold increase in fuel prices will discourage people from using cars for everything.
This road was always going to be a waste of money unless it Carry’s on over the trent and joins up with the A46. This would give 3 villages a bypass not one like gedling village. It would take traffic away from Burton Joyce, Lowdham, and Gunthorpe now that would be a relief road . Also spring lane as become heavy with traffic as they use that as a short cut instead of going all the way around.
The traffic on Westdale Lane is now so heavy, much more so than before the GAR was put in. The feeder roads ,Besecar Avenue, Phoenix Avenue etc are taking so much more traffic. So many potholes it’s like a jigsaw puzzle, also junction of Adbolton Ave and Westdale Lane. All the road repair allocations seem to be further up Westdale Lane and Mapperley top.
Get rid of the bus plug at the bottom end of GAR. What idiot in Via and the Council decided to keep it? Please explain yourselves here for all to read!
Also remove the temporary camera on stoke lane, this only got approved as it was a temporary measure.
Remove the bus plug, what idiots at Via and the council decided to leave it there.
Goodness, don’t some people like to moan?
Colliery way was essentially built as the Gedling bypass. In that respect it is doing it’s job. I have lived in Gedling for over sixty years, and live just off Lambley Lane and Arnold Lane, and granted we have endured increased traffic while waiting for Arnold Lane to reopen. Since that has happened there is only a fraction of the original traffic using it.
Be careful what you wish for. Banning all traffic will only reduce footfall and turn our lovely village into a deprived wasteland, just as the rerouting of traffic has done to Netherfield, Colwick and Sneinton.
what did the gedling village people expect from a gary wood single carriage road special now the same stunt in newark on the a46 at farndon instead of a southern by-pass to the a17 at codington .poor transport planning as usual in nottinghamshire county council.
The GAR was a ‘jobs for the boys’ exercise, designed to line the pockets of builders and farmers, who basically run the Tory party.
It was built on the cheap as well, which you can see by how narrow the road is, in parts. Also the kerb edging isn’t straight in quite a few places, including on the realigned section of Lambley Lane and on the sections that skirt the country park