Derbyshire village seeks payback after HGV damages Medieval monument
Bonsall Parish Council is urgently seeking reparations from a national food supplier after one of its delivery lorries damaged a monument which has stood in the centre of the village for more than 500 years.
Early on Friday, February 6, the Fresh Direct lorry was caught on camera as it tried to manoeuvre around the grade II* listed market cross on Yeoman and mounted the stone steps at its base.
The weight of the vehicle broke several stones in the structure – originally built in the late 14th or early 15th century, and modified over the centuries since – which will cost thousands of pounds to repair, according to initial estimates.
Parish councillor Stephen Smith said: “We will have to get surveyors and masons out for a full assessment but we don’t have that kind of money as a parish council. We couldn’t even afford an increase in our insurance premiums if we were to claim for the damage.
“We’re really up against it at the moment, so it’s fortuitous that residents were there to witness this. It seems pretty straightforward.”
The parish hopes to resolve the matter without involving the police or insurers, and Fresh Direct has shown initial willingness to cooperate.
A spokesperson for the company said: “As a responsible business, we expect all of our drivers to uphold the highest standards of road safety at all times. It is therefore extremely disappointing when an incident occurs that falls short of these expectations.
“We are conducting an urgent investigation into what happened and will take whatever action is appropriate. We sincerely apologise for any damage this may have caused and we will work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure that it is fully addressed and put right.”
Based on the early findings of that investigation, Fresh Direct insist the driver did not leave the scene but reported the accident promptly at 8:10am, and then logged it with their insurers at 8:28am.
The company also notes that the lorry was making a legal delivery to Bonsall, rather than taking a route through it.
For residents, however the incident is further evidence of a long-running problem with HGVs on Bonsall’s narrow streets, which has been compounded by current road closures.
Cllr Smith said: “This is one of a series of such incidents with overweight HGVs. It really is an ongoing problem and has generated a lot of local resentment. Just before Christmas an absolutely enormous lorry took out the side of my wife’s van.
“The roads in the village are very narrow and HGV's over certain tonnage are banned from entering. This is clearly signposted as drivers enter off the Via Gellia road.
“At the moment there are closures for works on the Via Gellia but that is also fully signposted at every access point to the village.”
Signs in place on Friday morning, at the centre of the road used by the lorry, read: ‘No HGV Access past Ball Eye Quarry through traffic Do not follow Satnav follow diversion .’
Cllr Smith said: “The signage around Bonsall has historically been really poor. We’ve complained about it to our county councillor, and they’ve tried to sort it out. It is getting better.
“Finally, just this morning, the project manager for this particular piece of work has got some decent signs in place which simply say, ‘No HGVs.’”
Councillor Charlotte Hill, the county’s cabinet member for potholes, highways and transport, said: “We are very sorry to hear that a lorry has damaged the medieval cross in Bonsall. As Bonsall Parish Council point out HGVs are not allowed to drive into the village and there are plenty of signs to let drivers know.
“We realise that the closure of the Via Gellia for urgent tree works has caused issues for many road users, but we have put up plenty of warning signs, and HGVs should be obeying them and not following satnav. There are no excuses for lorries to drive into the village.
”We will ask the police to do some enforcement of the HGV restrictions, and would ask anyone with photographic evidence of lorries in the village to send them to the police.”