Nottinghamshire County Councillors Johno Lee and Sam Smith start petitions to improve Balderton roads

A councillor has launched a petition to protect £150,000 newly-resurfaced roads from further damage.

Nottinghamshire County councillor Johno Lee has created a petition to implement weight restrictions on Hawton Road, Wilfred Avenue, and Lansbury Road, all in Balderton, intending to protect freshly resurfaced roads.

The weight restrictions are to encourage heavy goods vehicles to use the Southern Link Road rather than those roads, as their permanent use will ‘lead to significant wear and tear’.

The measures, if approved, are hoped to be implemented once the Southern Link Road, connecting the A1, Newark, and Fernwood, is completed, which is set for later this year.

Johno said: “The Southern Link Road has been designed to take 30,000 plus vehicles a day and take the weight of those vehicles — Hawton Lane, Lansbury Road and Wilfred Avenue haven’t.

“They are old roads that haven’t really been extended or widened, and the vehicles regularly drive on the pavements to get around, and in the past we haven’t been able to do anything about this because these were the only roads available to us, but now we have new roads.

“We need to be looking at bringing in the weight restrictions, and it's about that thinking ahead, as we know it's going to open, so let's start looking at the weight restrictions now instead of looking at the weight restrictions after it opens and there's an issue.

“Without immediate action, the very roads we strive to preserve may face rapid degradation yet again.”

The petition is urging Nottinghamshire County Council to take action and implement the weight limit on the three roads as it “spares the roads from excessive damage” and “ensures the financial investments made into road resurfacing are not squandered”.

As a county councillor representing the Balderton division, Johno Lee was able to request three schemes to be done and getting the three roads resurfaced was one of his priorities, which was done between April and May.

The councillor believes that the restrictions will also save the county council a ‘massive amount of money’ as it will avoid more frequent resurfacing.

He also claimed that residents have been asking for nearly three years, as when it rains, the water sits on the roads and then vehicles splash it into people’s homes and onto pedestrians.

The petition proposal will be presented to Nottinghamshire County Council at their next full council meeting on July 10.

Johno has also launched another petition for Balderton alongside fellow county councillor Sam Smith, calling on Nottinghamshire County Council to prioritise the resurfacing of Main Street, Balderton.

The road, despite being referred to as a “key route that serves as the heart of the village” was said to be in poor condition and riddled with potholes, which is causing issues to drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

Sam Smith said: “Every day, residents rely on this road to get to work, school, and to support our local businesses. Its current condition is not only frustrating, it’s dangerous.

“We have heard from countless residents who are rightly concerned about the damage being done to their vehicles and the risks to their personal safety.”

Residents are being encouraged to support the petition as they believe a collective action will send a strong message that the community will not accept substandard infrastructure.

“Our community deserves better,” added Johno, “We’re not asking for luxuries, we’re asking for safe, reliable infrastructure.

“The County Council has a duty to act before someone gets seriously hurt.

“Resurfacing Main Street isn’t just about fixing potholes, it’s about protecting the wellbeing of Balderton residents and restoring pride in our village.”

The petition proposal will be presented to the county council’s full committee at a later date.

A highways manager from Nottinghamshire County Council said “We are aware of petitions regarding resident concerns about weight restrictions on Hawton Lane and on resurfacing Main Street in Balderton. Once these petitions are presented at Full Council, the issue will be passed to the cabinet member so the issues raised can be further investigated.

“Where residents notice potholes, or any other highways issues, we ask that they continue to report them to us either through our website or the MyNOTTS App, after which an Inspector will attend the site as soon as possible within 10 working days to assess it for repairs – please include photos if you can to help us prioritise.

“There is also more information on how we manage highways for extreme weather on our website.”