Costs hitch hits lorry diversion appeal

Residents in West Hull have signed a petition calling for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes to be banned from North Road amid claims they are causing damage to properties and are a danger to children attending Francis Askew School.

The petitioners have called for the lorries to be re-routed along Askew Avenue, a dual carriageway.

North Road forms part of the city's ring road, and a solution considered by the city council was to establish a new ring road along roads including the A164 and A1079 in the East Riding.

Other options include the introduction of a 7.5-tonne weight limit in North Road, or the removal of the ring road designation.

Changing the road signs if the route is altered would cost the authority 5,000, the same amount it would have to pay to introduce a weight limit.

The most expensive option would be removing the ring road designation entirely, this cost being estimated at 58,000.

The report suggests the petitioners may be unsuccessful in their aims because of the cost of any changes.

The council's head of finance said in a report: "From a financial perspective, maintenance of the status quo, which does not appear to involve any additional costs being incurred, is the optimal solution.

"In the event that this is not viable, however, any solution which minimizes cost is the next best alternative.

"Any additional costs which are ultimately incurred – even if restricted to a minimal level – will have to be met from within budgetary provision."

East Riding Council is against any proposals to have the lorries diverted from Hull onto its road network.

The alternative route suggest in the report was via the A15, A164, A1079 and A1033.