Formal order for closed ‘rat-run’ road

A ROAD closed to traffic as a ‘trial’ measure for the last two years is to remain permanently shut, preventing its use as a rat run.

Brandon Road off Coventry Road in Hinckley will be the subject of a formal traffic regulation order (TRO), now approved by the county’s environmental and transport director.

The decision has only just been published despite the closure being in force for many months.

The street, linking Coventry Road to Northfield Road, was initially closed with temporary barriers in late 2014 as part of town’s highways improvement scheme.

Funded and carried out by highways authority Leicestershire County Council, the move was in response to fears of Brandon Road and Northfield Road being used as ‘rat-runs’ by drivers - especially HGVs - trying to get ahead of traffic queues onto Coventry Road.

Some £10,000 was spent in October last year on extending the pathway across the road entrance, so blocking it off from traffic. Residents are still able to access the street and have parking bays.

Left-turns into Brandon Road had already been banned but this rule seemed to cause confusion among motorists and was known to be flouted.

Alongside the notification of the TRO a county report explained: “Requests to close any particular road require evidence to establish feasibility and the effects on adjacent roads.”