Locals are left feeling the impact of noisy lorries using their road as a rat-run because a more appropriate route is not ready. 

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) being used in the building works of the New Eastern Villages have been using the residential Merlin Way in Covingham instead of the new Southern Connector Road.

The new road which runs from South Marston to the Commonhead Roundabout was almost complete before the collapse of contractor Buckingham Group but has not yet been opened to the public.

It is allegedly supposed to be available for construction vehicles to use, but according to Covingham & Dorcan’s Councillor Kevin Parry, the companies and the drivers can't use it. 

Cllr Parry said: “The Southern Connector road is available for use by construction companies but they are refusing to use it due to what they deem to be an insufficient turning point,  this will be modified, we are told, by January.

“The road is not allowed in its current state to be used by the public as there are road safety audit remedials to address.

“Vistry Homes are currently using Merlin Way as agreed with Highways, and temporarily, no more than 100 lorries per day and until October 19. We offered them use of the Southern Connector road and it didn’t work for them due to the junction layout and routing.”

He added: “The lorries will run on Merlin Way until October 19 2024. Their work will then pause until January 2025 and they will then be able to use the Southern Connector road.”

The Local Democracy Reporter visited Merlin Way at 3pm on a Tuesday and in 30 minutes counted 20 large trucks using the road.

Most of them, 17, were open-backed tipper trucks, although there was also one large articulated lorry, a giant cement mixer truck and a vehicle with a grab crane mechanism on its back used for loading and unloading heavy materials.

Cllr Parry said in his message there had been complaints about noise and vibration.

Jane Mortimer who lives in one of the houses backing onto Merlin Way, and who was walking her dog agrees.

She said: ”They are very noisy. Especially the tipper trucks. They hit bumps in the road with a very loud thud and you get to know that it’s a truck coming down the road going thump, thump, thump all along it.”

Cllr Parry added: ”We’ve been assured that the work will stop after October 19 and that the lorries will stop.

“If people are disturbed by lorries using the road outside the permitted times, they can let us know.”