Video footage shows the moment a delivery lorry destroyed a 15-year-old tree in a smash in Trafford.
Fed up residents who live on the street in Sale said it’s the latest in a series of incidents in which HGVs have caused damage along the narrow road.
Those living on Alice Street say they are sick of the destruction being caused to their property and their neighbourhood by large delivery vehicles heading to the nearby OneStop store on Northenden Road.
Alice Street is a narrow, residential route where residents park their cars on the roadside – it is not designed for larger vehicle access.
This week, a HGV lorry driver was filmed crashing into and felling a 15 year old tree on the street, which residents say they were told won’t likely be replaced by the council.
Laura McKinney, who lives on Alice Street, shared footage of the incident on Facebook, pleading for the problems to stop.
She said her car has been crashed into at least three times by separate lorry drivers, including once this week, and other neighbours have had their cars written off entirely in similar incidents.
She added that she has contacted both One Stop and Trafford council and written to her MP, but the issue still hasn’t been resolved.
Ms McKinney took to Facebook and said: “This morning my car was crashed into (third time) by a delivery truck delivering to One Stop. He also destroyed a 15 year old tree. Massive HGV trucks drive down our road. They clearly don’t fit.
“It’s happened to many neighbours. I have 30 signatures from a petition I compiled a year ago. The council do nothing. One Stop don’t care. How can we stop it before a child gets knocked down?”
Ms McKinney’s petition was posted through residents’ letter boxes in October last year.
It read: “We, the residents of Alice Street in Sale Moor, urgently wish to
stop heavy trucks using our narrow residential street as a turning circle and thoroughfare for local shops.
“In the last few years, several of our cars have been crashed into and some have been written off. Noisy engines with reversing sensor alarms are waking us up. The residents have had enough.”
In response to the petition, four months later in February this year a Trafford council officer said members of the authority’s traffic team would be in contact with local businesses, including One Stop, to remind them that the area is not suitable for large delivery vehicles.
They added that the parking services team had been asked to step up enforcement action in the area to ensure businesses were using the correct areas to load and unload and not use residential streets.
But the problems are ongoing, as this week’s incident shows.
Mike Kane, MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, wrote to Ms McKinney this week to inform her he was in contact with Trafford council about the issue and would pass on any updates when he heard back.
A One Stop spokesperson said: “We’d like to pass on our sincere apologies to local Sale residents who have been affected by our delivery lorries.
“From today, our One Stop Northenden Road store will receive its deliveries via a smaller, much more manoeuvrable lorry. Our transport team are also in conversation with the local council, discussing solutions on how to make it safer for customers and local residents during delivery operations.
“Our teams are also picking up insurance with those who have been affected.
“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our number one priority.”
A spokesperson for Trafford council said: “We are aware of the recent incident and officers from our traffic team will be contacting the logistics team from One Stop as a matter of urgency.
“This will be to arrange a discussion, and site meeting if necessary, with a view to providing a solution to this issue.
“Our highways team will also be looking at ways to develop a solution that addresses residents’ concerns.”
