St. Johns Hill in Shaftesbury Dorset has had a historic problem with large (40 and 44 ton) HGVs trying to use this steep/narrow/windy route onto the A30/A350, from the west, and getting stranded. HGV stranding  results in road closures, police callouts and the deployment of heavy recovery vehicles.  This has been exacerbated by increased traffic from the abattoir at Manston Rd. Sturminster Newton using Satnav to find a route.

In 2006 after a campaign by local residents, Dorset County Council signed an alternative route for HGVs via Coles Lane and Cherry Orchard.  This consists of a pictorial HGV diversion sign and a small blue "Unsuitable for Heavy Vehicles" sign.  This had the effect of reducing the number of strandings, however most of the abattoir drivers are Polish and they do not recognise or cannot read the blue text sign and blindly follow the Satnav. Having questioned some drivers, they point out that there is no 'Internationally recognised' weight limit sign applied to the route, approaching from the West, which they would obey. There are statutory weight limit signs applied to all the other routes into Shaftesbury town centre.  St. Johns Hill should now be similarly signed, now that an alternative route exists for HGVs via Coles Land and Cherry Orchard.

The situation is only being kept at bay by handing out maps to HGV drivers at the abattoir showing the correct route, if it were not for this the number of strandings would increase to several per week.

This has been going on since 2004 and now is the time for a satisfactory solution from Dorset County Council, the solution should be:

1. The most important requirement -  statutory weight limit signs placed at the Coles Lane junction, to bring this route in line with the others.

2. A sign for HGVs to ignore Satnav, if such a sign exists.

3. A hill gradient indicator, at the Coles Lane junction.

4. On a longer term the provision of HGV friendly Satnav maps.

Please see http://shaftesburymatters.blogspot.co.uk for pictures and history of this issue.