Fed-up villagers in call for new slip road
At‘end of tether’over lorries
A group of Perthshire villagers are at the “end of their tether” when it comes to noise being generated by HGV lorries visiting the site of a prominent local employer.
A band of fed-up locals in Blackford claim they are continually being woken up in the middle of the night by delivery lorries to and from Highland Spring’s bottling plant in the village, and add their houses are “shaking” because of the traffic.
A residents’ group – known as Blackford Community Action Group – is now calling for a slip road to be built directly from the A9 to the bottling plant, and for a curfew to be imposed to stop lorries visiting the site overnight.
Group member Grant Peacock said: “We have been fighting with Highland Spring for a number of years to stop their lorries.
“This is a quiet village - it is just us and then at the end of the road, Highland Spring.
“The lorries are coming through the night and the problem is we are getting woken up, and once you have been woken up a couple of times a night, you do get grumpy.
“Highland Spring recently got planning permission for a new bottling plant out of Blackford next to the old bottling plant, which has a curfew between 7pm and 7am because of the noise and because Highland Spring is in such close proximity to the houses.
“What we don’t understand is that if the old plant has a
The entrance to the Highland Spring bottling plant in Blackford
Mr Peacock explained: “We are asking for a small slip road directly to Highland Spring. It is simple but Transport Scotland seem to have other priorities further up the A9 and don’t want to be building a slip road at Blackford, and Perth and Kinross Council don’t want to put their hand in their pockets. And, Highland Spring said it is not their job to pay for it.
“A slip road could be built in the next two years and it would make a huge difference - it can be done. In the meantime we have asked for the delivery lorries to be stopped at night and have a curfew put in place.
“We just can’t go on like this when we are getting no sleep. Highland Spring know pressure is building up in Blackford.”
A spokesperson for Highland Spring said: “Being a good neighbour is a priority for Highland Spring Group and we do all we can to minimise the impact of our operations on the local community, including requesting that all drivers adhere to a reduced speed limit of 20mph through the village and the recent funding and installation of speed signs on Moray Street to support this.
“In order to reduce the number of vehicle movements through the village overnight we are about to invest in additional on-site trailer parking.”
The spokesperson continued: “We can confirm that we are in conversations with Perth and Kinross Council and Transport Scotland around additional measures of support for the community, one of which is exploring whether the east slip road from the village could be made into a two-way road with a left hand turn off the A9.
“These are still under council consideration so we can’t comment more on progress at this time, however we can confirm that Highland Spring have offered financial support to make this possible.
“We work to support local residents wherever possible and have an open and ongoing dialogue with Blackford Community Council to listen and respond directly to concerns.”
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “Perth and Kinross Council is aware of the concerns of residents regarding noise nuisance and has been in dialogue with Highland Spring and Transport Scotland to discuss local people’s views and possible solutions, and this dialogue is continuing.
“Speed activated signs have been installed to encourage drivers to moderate their speed in the village, and we continue to work with Highland Spring to reduce night time movements of HGVs until a more permanent solution is found.”
A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said any potential slip road would come under the local roads network, and therefore does not come under the authority of Transport Scotland.