Rat-run is 'accident waiting to happen' say Harborough district residents living on unofficial diversion for Midland Mainline work

Residents living in a Harborough district village that has become as a major diversion route say life has turned into a “true nightmare” because of increased traffic and vehicles speeding.

Work to the Midland Mainline railway has meant a number of bridges near to Newton Harcourt have had to be rebuilt, resulting in closures on some of the area’s busiest roads.

The most notable closure is on Station Road, which was shut in January so a bridge could be knocked down and constructed again. This work was set to have finished already and the road reopened, but “unexpected delays” have now pushed its completion date back to November.

Transport company Network Rail has since apologised for this. But the closure has prevented people from travelling to and from the Newton Lane and Kibworth Road junctions, meaning the majority of traffic is diverted through the village when trying to access the A6 near Great Glen or heading towards Wigston and the M1, leading to “chaos” in the sleepy village.

Steve Small has lived in Newton Harcourt for the last 10 years and said the traffic has never been this bad. He said he was not aware the Station Road closure had been extended and described the news as “devastating”.

He added: “The noise has become particularly awful. Motorcycles come blaring through here and people are just breaking every speed limit they can.

“We need some form of traffic calming that actually works, because the give way parts cause huge queues or you see people speeding up so they don’t have to give way to another vehicle. I look after dogs so walking along the small pavements with huge trucks hanging over the pavement just isn’t possible so I have to go and drive somewhere to take them out.”

Fellow villager and father of four Tim Couper shared this sentiment and said he was worried this could turn into a “multi-year” problem. He added: “I don’t think the traffic calming measures we have right now are safe enough.

“They cause the traffic to back up for miles and there is a lot of speeding. It can be ridiculous, I’ve seen people come through at 50 or 60 mph.

“I’d be happy to see a camera put in, it would be safer than what we have now as people also see coming through the mini sort of chicanes and accelerate to try and get through.”

The work is part of the multi-million pound electrification programme to the Midland Mainline, which is currently working to upgrade the route between Kettering and Wigston. This is to allow for quieter and cleaner electric trains to run on the tracks rather than diesel engines.

A spokesperson for Network Rail previously said: “We apologise for the extended closure facing residents and motorists wanting to use the Station Road bridge in Great Glen. Completion has been delayed due to unexpected work and additional safety features needing to be implemented, including the installation of new traffic lights.

“We are working closely with the county council to ensure that work is completed and the bridge is reopened as soon as possible for residents and motorists. We would also like to thank residents and motorists for their continued understanding and patience whilst this project is completed.”

Julie Guiver of the village said the work was frustrating but there is not a lot that can be done due to the size of the huge engineering project. She said: “It is hugely inconvenient and the traffic has hugely increased but there is not a lot we can do about it.

“Problems have been created for villages like us, a lot of the time we do see motorists being quite aggressive with people trying to get out of their driveways in the village. The village has always been a rat-run and the build outs in the road to help calm traffic but a lot of the time they cause a negative impact.

“There is obviously a safety issue created as there are a lot of elderly people in the village and children. I personally think it is all about driver behaviour, at the end of the day we cannot help the amount of traffic because we are a diversion route so we need people to be more respectful.”

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he has seen accidents along the road. He added: “I have three children aged nine, 10 and 11. I do not trust them to cross the road and I should be able to and not because they are incapable, because I don’t trust the vehicles and the potential abuse they may get.

“It is a constant worry at the moment, even when they are walking along the pavements as you are worried about vehicles hurtling through. Its only going to take one little nick on the kerb and it will go flying. We’ve seen vehicles going at 70mph, it is so concerning."

A spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council said in response: “Speeding traffic through the village is a matter which needs to be reported to the police. Newton Harcourt already has traffic management controls in place, and there is an existing 30mph limit.

“The volume of traffic and the speed of traffic are two independent factors, other than that in general, as volume increases, speed tends to decrease. Statutory bodies such as the highway authority and the rail authority have a duty to maintain and improve the transport network, and road closures are necessary in order to carry out these works.

“The county council plans roadworks, subject to emergencies, to keep the highway network available for the travelling public. All planned roadworks are available to view on the website https://one.network/public.”