Praise for HGV limit on town's most polluted road

Residents have praised the introduction of a new weight limit on Swindon's most polluted street.

The borough council has introduced a 7.5 tonne weight limit on Kingshill Road in the town, in an effort to improve local air quality following a consultation in 2024.

Resident John Lyons, who has lived on the road for three decades, said that it was "excellent news" because HGVs were "a general nuisance for everybody".

The new limit will apply for vehicles such as articulated lorries between the B4289 Westcott Place and Okus Road junctions, with the exception of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) delivering to homes and businesses in the area.

The announcement came as welcome surprise to Mr Lyons.

"I only found out this morning when I saw the sign down the road. It's absolutely brilliant, because we do suffer up here, unfortunately," he added.

"The HGVs come up here on quite a regular basis. First thing in the morning, very noisy, last thing at night.

"I'm really pleased, it's really good news."

Kingshill Road is a steep uphill stretch which links the town centre with the Old Town part of Swindon. There are houses and trees on both sides, creating a narrow street that traps vehicle emissions.

The ban is expected to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels by up to 5%, while impacting 120 HGV journeys per day.

Jeremy Smith, who has lived at the top of the road for almost 25 years, said that he was also in favour of the scheme.

"You've got to let lorries make local deliveries. But you can see a lot of the lorries are going through Old Town.

"They're not actually going to stop in Old Town, and it's good to stop those."

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