Save the salt box

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
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MEMBERS of a village action group have hit out at the 3,000 truckers and cafe customers who have signed a petition to prevent a 7.5 tonne vehicle weight restriction past their homes.

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everyone wants goods but dont want trucks delivering them

She said: "Hatton is one of the worst affected traffic areas in the Midlands. It has one main street, with houses each side close to the road, two lots of traffic lights and a railway crossing, and everybody in this area has been affected at some point by the congestion.

this has only come to light since the opening of the new a50. trucks have " thundered" through hatton for years as this was the old a50 from leicester to stoke.

“Instead Hatton is left with an environment of pollution, stress, danger, sleepless nights, and migraines caused by the continual irritation. We sincerely hope the various councils debating this very necessary restriction in Hatton will favour the people living in the village.”

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this is the place with the nestle factory, maybe they should shut that and put the villagers on the dole,hang on what services the plant, o yer trucks :exclamation:

"All of these customers who signed the petition do not need to worry like us, they just get in their vehicles and go. Hundreds of these truckers and villagers will not be affected at all.

no were not effected ,we will just sleep and [zb] in laybys that are noturious for curtain slashings and hijackings, not affected one bit :imp:

looks like another truckers rest will bite the dust :cry:

jon

quotes taken from here

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these nimby’s never cease to amaze me.

they campaign for years for a bypass then when they get one they complain because it’s made of concrete and so makes a lot of noise as people drive along it, now they are whinging about a few trucks visiting a local establishment that provides hot food for weary travellers the way it has done for decades.

i remember visiting the salt box cafe when i was just 14 and used to travel with a family friend during school holidays in his truck.
at one time the lorry drivers had their own side whilst other visitors went in the posh area and had to wait to be served because lorry drivers took priority at the counter and would have been in the posh side too had it not been for the way the job was back then (dirty boiler suits, muddy boots and the aroma of freshly burnt diesel around them.

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I can understand the felling of the locals, they thought building the A50 would take traffic from their village, but yet again major roads have been built without thought for decent places for rest. If we do get something built it’s yet another overpriced service area that doesn’t really want HGV’s and makes sure the facilities, parking and prices discourage commercial drivers from using it.
If when they built these roads they offered the owners of places like the Salt Box a proper site then we might get the facilities operated by people who understand our needs. Although if they tried to move onto a site on the A50 then they’d still be planning objections.
At the moment facilities for commercial drivers seem to have a lower priority than those for travellers.
Short of all parking up for a week I really can’t think of a way of proving to those NIMBY’s in the UK, many of who rushed to the Boxing day sales, that without road haulage they wouldn’t have the goods they desire at a price they can afford and the drivers of the trucks needs to have somewhere decent to rest. Even if it’s just to get out of the cab and have a cup of tea.

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NIMBYism will be the death of what little we have left on this godforsaken island - it’s me me me me me and sod everyone else or “the common good”

a customer of mine was telling me the other day how the EA have served him with yet another improvement notice, the works has been there for 150 years (yes, not a typo) but now that trendy media types are moving into this fairly picturesque town (where they are the main employer, but of LOCALS) from nearby cities he’s slowly being put out of business :imp:

and another, firm which builds agricultural dryers - one of their farmer customers flogged a strip of land 2 years ago for houses, and when he came to replace the grain dryer which had stood in the same place for 35 years, the local council made him re-site it all at great expense due to objections from his new neighbours :unamused:

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A prime example of a ‘by-pass gone wrong’ is at Wyre Piddle. Yes. It does exist HERE.

For years the locals campaigned for a by-pass, which is now located North of the village. However, it comprises three roundabouts, two of which are effectively right turns, which, as everyone will appreciate, is always an opportunity for a roll-over. Besides which, at the Eastern end of the village was a petrol station which, whilst not accommodating high vehicles, was adjacent to a wide solid verge, ideal for essential purchases.

Following the completion of the by-pass, it soon became apparent that inhabitants who had previously found alternative parking for their vehicles, were now determined to park directly outside their place of occupation.

I’ve no problem with that. If I want to saunter through a village as opposed to using the by-pass with lots of gear changes and braking, then I’ll cope.

THEN the residents, not content with a by-pass, decide that they want no through traffic whatsoever, and they campaign for the village to be effectively sealed off at the Eastern rail bridge. The village only consists of the aforementioned garage, at the Eastern end, together with a shop and an Hotel in the middle.

After much debate the County Council acceded, and the Western bridge was fitted with traffic lights and enforcement cameras permitting only PCV’s to traverse the village.

What it is like today? I don’t know. I’m sure that the garage which enjoyed an income from passing trade, has suffered a loss of income. The hotel, in a waterfront location, which I might have been tempted to visit some evening, has certainly lost any prospect of my custom for an evening meal. After all, why should I have to go to the far end of the by-pass, just to come back again. And the same on leaving.

As for the local shop? Possibly 50% of their potential income is beyond those Enforcement Cameras in the affluent area of Lower Moor. How long is that going to survive?

Commercially, I’m sure that the village is dying. All because of a minority of vociferous campaigners. And had their intentions been clear from the outset, then those two roundabouts with right turns could have been avoided, at a considerable saving of public expense.

Clearly something that is worthy of a paper by some undergraduate, either in Transport or Social Sciences.

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■■■■■■■■■ the salt box is a great place, and has been there years. the moaning ■■■■■■■ make me laugh, it’s a graveyard for traffic compared to what it was a few years back! pity the drivers dont boycott people like this, say ok, we wont come at all and starve the ■■■■■■■ out.

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Actually, perhaps it should be made a PROPER 7.5t weight limit. That is, there should be NO exemption for loading/unloading. Also, it should be rigorously enforced.

Then maybe, when they can’t get stuff delivered, the local shop is empty or has had to ramp up the prices to cover multiple deliveries as well as the many other ramifications such as the village being plagued with vans and 7.5 tonners, the penny may finally drop.

At the end of the day though, it has always been a main thoroughfare. They knew that when they bought their houses.

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At the end of the day though, it has always been a main thoroughfare. They knew that when they bought their houses.

exactly, it reminds me of some round here that bought there houses by a railway line and complain about the trains! ■■■■■ me gently, they need a blow of the cap till they brighten up, seriously, i dont know why anyone would take such brain dead ■■■■■■■ seriously at all!

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As Ussual, I couldn’t resist a response to them :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Dear Sirs, with reference to this article, as an HGV Driver I may sympathise with the residents, however, I notice they make a point of highlighting the fact they only have one Main street, would they like to point out how the goods are delivered / collected from the Nestle Factory or local shops, by all means put a 7.5 ton limit on the road, after all a 7.5 ton vehicle is capable of carrying 3 tons of goods, whereas, a 44 Ton articulated Truck can carry around 33 tons of goods, so forgive me if I’m wrong, but by replacing the 44 ton artic with a 7.5 ton truck, would this not increase the traffic required to transport the goods by a further 10 vehicles per articulated truck?

Of course there are also other factors to look at, such as the requirements of HGV Drivers to take legally required rest breaks of 45 minutes after no more than 4.5 hrs of driving, perhaps the action group would prefer the drivers to simply park on the nearside lane of the local A38 or A50 as insufficient laybys are supplied by the highways agency. Then of course there is the overnight parking of trucks which are delivering goods in the Hatton area, where would the action group like these parked? Maybe it would be better for the action group to formally request the closure of the Nestle factory and then there will be no excuse for trucks to go anywhere near the area, just busses to carry the villagers to the local out of town supermarkets, where they can spend their unemployment benefit. Of course they will probably find that they then need to complain about the bus service as the bus would be delayed due to the parked trucks on the dual carriageways whilst the drivers take their rest breaks (Legally required)
If the action group is happy to see 22 employees of the cafe lose their jobs then I think they really need to sit down and think of the full consequences of their actions beforehand.

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yeah thats it davey, lets close the coffee plant and all other industries and shops that need deliveries, :laughing: i bet theres a load of them that work there, you can imagine the bullsilage …errr well thats different then!

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Here’s mine…

Dear Sir,

Re: ACTION GROUP PETITION BLAST

As a HGV driver, I am fully in support of Betty Chells protest. Not only should the 7.5t weight limit be instituted as soon as possible but it should be a proper one with no exemptions whatsoever, even for loading and unloading, and should be rigorously enforced with no HGVs allowed into Hatton for any purpose whatsoever.

I do realise that this would have the unfortunate side effect of shutting down the truckstop meaning yet another place we cannot park as well as forcing the closure of the Nestle factory along with all the redundancies, many I suspect being residents of the village, but no matter as I hear that dole money is quite good these days. Also it would mean that the local shops will not be able to get deliveries or will have to hike up the prices to pay for additional deliveries by van which would clog up the streets more but at least Ms. Chell wouldn’t have those dirty nasty lorries “thundering” down the Main St eh? After all, we wouldn’t want to upset a handful of residents who are getting disturbed by the lorries that were using that street long before they bought their houses would we?

I hope Ms. Chell finds my support for her cause helpful.

Yours truly,

Conor Turton - HGV driver.

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hohoho! nice and sarky conor! i wonder if the dumb ■■■■■■■ will get it?

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Mal:
yeah thats it davey, lets close the coffee plant and…

Close the what■■? Where do I sign the petition? :wink: :smiley: :smiley:

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Those who know the place better than me might correct me, but to get to the Saltbox from the A50 you don’t have to go through the Village.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=DE65+5PT&spn=0.035532,0.102739&hl=en

"There are times, like last Thursday morning, when four huge lorries each carrying a permanent caravan home were held up at the crossing, and traffic was backed up almost to the Saltbox, meaning all roads leading off the main street were blocked. This happens regularly.

Now if the saltbox is where the map says it is, that’s about 1Km from the Crossing. 4 trucks with mobile say take up 200m of road space, who the hell was taking up the other 800m. Wouldn’t be locals on the way to work or others cutting through to Burton on Trent. Seems unlikely that most of the Cafe’s customers would go through Hatton.
I reckon it’s people who don’t like the idea of having a transport cafe near them, might effect house prices you know :unamused: . A bit like the people who wanted the Cafe at Necton on the A47 near Swaffham closed, for no other reason than they thought it lowered the tone of the village. :confused:

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spot on muckles

the hatton protest group were in the paper a few months back, oing back and forth across the pelican crossing protesting about traffic. if they wernt pressing the button every 30 seconds they wouldnt be any traffic.

they have already got hilton (as wheel nut will confirm) a 7.5 ton weight limit and restrictions on truck movements to and from hilton industrial estate.

salt box is also a big bikers meet place

jon

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If you’ve ever eaten (or attempted to eat) a breakfast at the Salt Box, you won’t want to save it. Sausages and burnt bacon swimming in fat isn’t what I want to start the day on - thank you very much.

I was ill for three days after the last one I had there - and it cost over a fiver for the priviledge.

Let it slip into yesteryear - where it belongs.

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Coffeeholic:

Mal:
yeah thats it davey, lets close the coffee plant and…

Close the what■■? Where do I sign the petition? :wink: :smiley: :smiley:

:smiley: :smiley: youll never sign it!

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muckles, that pins in the wrong place m8, its the other side of the road, off station rd, not that lane, when you come from the a5o down the old road, you turn right at the lights where the pub is and the the caffs on the left. if im wrong ive got alzheimers! :wink:

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Mal:
muckles, that pins in the wrong place m8, its the other side of the road, off station rd, not that lane, when you come from the a5o down the old road, you turn right at the lights where the pub is and the the caffs on the left. if im wrong ive got alzheimers! :wink:

I just put in the post code for a search and that’s what I got, but the only time I’ve been to the saltbox was before the A50 was built and I remember turning off the road to Stoke. But like you say the cafe isn’t very far past the junction so traffic going to it from the A50 wouldn’t be travelling through the village.

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I 've been going into the ‘Salt box’ for yonks, I bet this is some pillock that just moved into the village :frowning: