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'HGVs make the road crack and my house shake'

Charlie Stubbsnear Wellington
Charlie Stubbs / BBC A woman in a light blue T-shirt is standing on the side of a country lane. She has blonde hair tied in a ponytail that falls onto her right shoulder. Long green grass, trees, and bushes surround her on the verges.Charlie Stubbs / BBC
Charlotte Dukes moved to Rushmoor from Walsall three years ago

People living in a hamlet in Shropshire are urging the council to repair the cracks in the mile-long main road.

Rushmoor, near Wellington, has just one road running through it, which locals claim lorries and heavy-duty machinery frequently use, worsening the cracks.

Charlotte Dukes moved to Rushmoor from Walsall three years ago and said the cracks had been there for as long as she could remember: "The HGVs make the road crack and my house shake."

Telford and Wrekin Council said it was sorry to hear of the residents' concerns about Rushmoor Lane and added it took "the condition and safety of its highway network very seriously".

In 2020, contractors dug up the road to connect gas mains to the new build estate, Allscott Meads. But residents claim that attempts to restore the road after the works have made the situation worse.

Dukes said she was worried the road could get worse because of the extra traffic caused by 5,000 homes being built in nearby Bratton and Wappenshall, as proposed in Telford and Wrekin Council's Local Plan.

"If each of those [houses] has a car, that's 5,000 cars, so the traffic's just going to be horrendous. It's going to be like the M6 motorway," Dukes said.

"You can get your fingers down [in the crack on the road] and it's been there a while, you see the grass growing.

"When [will it be] important enough to fix it?"

Charlie Stubbs / BBC A road has a big crack running through it. Darker concrete borders the crack, which extends into the distance. Traces of grass and moss grow in the middle of the crack. Broken white lines also extend toward the horizon.Charlie Stubbs / BBC
The road was dug up in 2020 to link gas mains to the Allscott Meads estate

Her neighbour Laura Parry said she was worried about possible injuries from any accidents caused by the cracks.

"This road's used regularly by cyclists. It's a lovely rural route," Parry said.

"If you got your tyres stuck in one of those, it would cause a horrific accident.

"My husband runs twice a week and goes down the lane, and, in the winter months when it's dark, he's terrified, really. It's a broken ankle waiting to happen."

In a statement, the council said that Rushmoor Lane was included in its "routine safety inspection programme, where any defects are identified and assessed against defined criteria".

"Where issues meet the threshold for intervention, repairs are scheduled accordingly," it continued.

"We recognise the importance of this route to the local community and will continue to monitor its condition closely.

"Any safety-critical issues identified through inspections, or reported by residents, are prioritised so that appropriate action can be taken as quickly as possible."

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