Calls for HGV ban on ‘dangerous’ Wiltshire road after string of serious incidents

According to MP for East Wiltshire Danny Kruger, it’s “completely inappropriate” that the A346 near Marlborough takes the volume of heavy goods traffic that it does. His support for the banning of HGVs on the A346 comes after a dramatic crash[1] on the A346 on Saturday, June 15 saw a PrimaFrio lorry come off a bridge near Marlborough and plummet headfirst into the canal below. Although there were no serious injuries, the lorry severely damaged the bridge and contaminated the canal with fuel and debris, requiring weeks of repair work.

Shortly after the crash, Marlborough Town councillor Mark Luson raised the question of banning HGVs on the A-road in a planning meeting but was told he needed government action. “Something needs to change with the current air quality issues which we have seen in Marlborough, and the routine damage we witness to road surfaces exacerbated by HGVs,” said Cllr Luson. The A346 lorry crash in June saw a HGV plummet headfirst into the canal. (Image: Dave Cox)

“In my short time as a town councillor, HGVs transiting this route have resulted in damage to the bridges North of Burbage at least twice and been involved in the death of a child in Collingbourne Ducis.” Referring to the same death of seven-year-old Eloise Jackson in 2021[2], East Wiltshire MP Danny Kruger said: “Tragically a few years ago a little girl was killed by a lorry. “I’ve since been campaigning with her family and with local residents to get this road taken out of the national prime route network.”

Eloise Jackson died in 2021 after her bicycle collided with a HGV near Marlborough. (Image: Newsquest) The politician added: “It’s completely inappropriate that this road takes the volume of heavy goods traffic that it does. “It chokes up Marlborough to the north, it chokes up all the villages north and south of here.

“The heavy goods traffic that goes north and south should be travelling on the dual carriageway roads that exist to the east and the west of here.” Other HGV incidents on the A346 include the March 2024[3] crash which saw a 12-year-old passenger hospitalised with serious injuries. In May 2024 a crash on the A346 between Marlborough and Chiseldon saw an overturned lorry go through a fence.

The East Wiltshire MP, along with Cllr Luson, is now continuing to campaign to get the UK Government to ban HGVs from the A346 and the A338, in the hopes of preventing further crashes.

References

1. ^ dramatic crash (www.gazetteandherald.co.uk)
2. ^ Eloise Jackson in 2021 (www.gazetteandherald.co.uk)
3. ^ March 2024 (www.gazetteandherald.co.uk)