Heavy goods vehicles (HGV) have been banned from driving through Towcester town centre, following the opening of a long-awaited relief road.

A weight limit on the A5 through Towcester was introduced on Wednesday May 6, from the roundabout at Cow Pastures Lane to the Old Tiffield Road junction.

Introduced by National Highways, the traffic order stops vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes from travelling through the town centre. Instead, they are to use the relief road which connects the A5 to the A43 and opened on Tuesday May 5.

Andrew Jinks, Midlands Regional Director at National Highways, said: “The completion of Persimmon’s relief road means we can now go ahead with our plan for a weight restriction on the A5 to tackle the issues businesses and residents have raised about congestion, noise and vibrations from passing large vehicles.

A new weight limit has been added to the A5 through Towcester town centre.

placeholder image — A new weight limit has been added to the A5 through Towcester town centre.

“This is the first phase of National Highways’ work to address some of those concerns and find a solution to reduce the number of heavy vehicles travelling along the A5 every day."

Nearby businesses and hauliers have been notified of the new weight restriction and Northamptonshire Police says it will monitor traffic on the A5.

Councillor Richard Butler, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport at West Northamptonshire Council, said the relief road will “potentially divert a large number of heavy vehicles away from the town’s main high street, creating a much cleaner and more pleasant environment for everyone concerned”.

He added: “HGV drivers should also see the benefit as they will not need to negotiate narrow urban roads governed by multiple sets of traffic lights.”

The only exemptions for the weight restriction are for emergency vehicles, buses and coaches, recovery vehicles responding to nearby callouts and vehicles making deliveries to residents, shops and businesses. National Highways say there could also be occasions when traffic is diverted through Towcester on the A5 due to roadworks, collisions or incidents on the A43 or the new relief road.

Further improvement works on the A5 are due to begin in autumn this year and will include installing new shared-used paths for pedestrians and cyclists and controlled crossing points, which according to National Highways will continue in their ambition of “improving congestion and safety in the historic town centre”.