Coach fire and two car crashes lead to A34 closure on February 7 which causes hours of traffic chaos in West Ilsley with HGVs travelling through the small village near Newbury

A district councillor has asked “will it take a death before the authorities take action?” after an A34 closure caused several hours of traffic chaos in a West Berkshire village.

On Friday evening (February 7) a coach fire and two car crashes closed the A34 both ways between Chieveley and Chilton for several hours, diverting traffic through West Ilsley and gridlocking the small village.

Councillor Carolyne Culver (Green, Ridgeway) has called for West Berkshire Council to introduce a restriction on HGVs travelling through West Ilsley whenever there is an A34 closure as she believes the village roads are not large enough to accommodate them.

It is something Ms Culver has raised with traffic officers before, but she fears her request will again fall on deaf ears.

She said that the incident on Friday evening damaged West Ilsley’s roads and pavements, posed potential danger to pedestrians and made the rural village “look like Junction 13 during rush hour”.

She added: “HGVs should stop using West Ilsley as a rat-run following accidents on the A34.

“The latest incident on Friday evening resulted in lorries driving through the village for several hours, with a resident standing in the road trying to direct a Royal Mail HGV to negotiate the junction in the centre of the village.

“A parish councillor was nearly run over by a lorry mounting a kerb.

“West Berkshire Council won’t impose a weight limit unless the police commit to enforce, but the police say the council needs to agree a plan and then pass it to the police to review.

“Will it take a death before the authorities take action?”

In response to her previous calls for change, West Berkshire traffic officers have told Ms Culver that Bury Lane, a road that connects West Ilsley to the A34, has “a generous and continuous width that allows two large vehicles to pass with ease”, a fact she disagrees with.

The officers also stated that the current risk to road users is “considered minimal” and that there would be “no justification” to introduce an HGV restriction.

Ms Culver has suggested that instead of using Bury Lane and West Ilsley as a diversion route, National Highways should shut the A34 from Junction 13 and divert lorries along the M4 instead.