Plans to stop HGV 'short-cut' through town

A congestion charge for heavy goods vehicles is being considered to reduce the number of trucks driving through an riverside town.

Henley-on-Thames is frequently used as a short cut for trucks needing to cross the river, but the town's narrow roads and local traffic can lead to severe congestion.

The council is now looking at options to remove some of the HGVs, including putting weight or size restrictions on the town's bridge, physically changing the road system and charging lorries coming into the area.

Henley and Thame MP, Freddie van Mierlo, said the town had been looking for a solution to the problem for "far too long" and "we are now further along in the process than we've ever been".

According to van Mierlo, who lives in Henley, the town is "buttressed by motorways" including the M40, the M4 and the A34 and when queues build up on these routes, Henley's bridge over the Thames offers an alternative option.

Van Mierlo believes HGVs should stick to the "strategic network."

"Henley's not designed for HGVs, clearly. It's got narrow streets, pedestrians are vulnerable," he said.

"We've got air pollution as well and that's why they should be sticking to those clear demarked [sic] routes that are suitable for HGVs."

According to van Mierlo, Oxfordshire County Council is now leading on the project, with a feasibility study due to be carried out over the next six months to establish the best solution to stop HGVs travelling through the town.

"Nothing is being ruled in and nothing is being ruled out, it's about finding the right solution that's going to work specifically for the geography of Henley," he said. But early ideas include:

• A weight restriction limit on Henley Bridge,
• A congestion charge for HGVs - described as a "more innovative solution," by van Mierlo - that would collect money to be reinvested in the town,
• A "simpler" change in road designs to make it harder and less attractive for HGVs to go through the area.

Part of the problem is the limited number or routes over the River Thames, connecting the M4 and the M40.

Another bridge over the Thames at Reading has been a consideration for several years, but will not form part of the feasibility study.

Van Mierlo said that option was being promoted by councils in Berkshire, to alleviate traffic there, but it wasn't an idea he backed.

"It would lead to development in the south of Oxfordshire and a merging of much of Reading into rural villages, but that's a separate issue," he said.

A report is due to go before the county council this autumn, to release funds to take the study further.

Work would then take place over the winter to establish a preferred option, with a financial decision needing to be taken as part of Oxfordshire County Council's budget in February.

Van Mierlo says it will be "years and not months" for the final project to begin, but added "we are now further along the process than we have ever been."