How Heavy Truck Traffic is Causing Damage to Our Homes and Affecting Our Lives

Villagers have said that their lives are misery due to lorries using their countryside road, claiming the ‘constant’ shaking is damaging their homes.

Some homeowners are frustrated because their properties are experiencing issues due to vibrations caused by noisy heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) on Mortimers Lane in Hampshire.

Mortimers Lane serves as a link between the scenic countryside and the village of Fair Oak near Winchester. The lane is bordered by sizable homes that can fetch prices as high as £650,000.

Neighbours have complained that the constant stream of traffic has led to broken boilers, damaged water pipes and even led to cars being written off.

The worst-affected properties sit directly by the road and locals said that despite it having a 30mph limit, lorries speed by at up to 60mph. 

Leaving home is ‘nerve-racking’ according to neighbours who claim they are ‘taking their life their hands’ when crossing the road.

In response to the ongoing problem, four homeowners have united to urge the Conservative-led Hampshire County Council to impose restrictions on the volume of HGV traffic permitted on the lane.

Colin and Eugenie Codrai have lived on the road for 37 years and had one of their garage destroyed when a car ploughed into their home in November 2024.

David Sinclair believes his water pipe broke because of the ‘heavy traffic’ on the two-mile-long road. Pictured: David and Anita Sinclair

Mortimers Lane connects the rolling Hampshire countryside to the village of Fair Oak near Winchester and is lined with large, detached properties which fetch up to £650,000

Colin and Eugenie Codrai (pictured) first got in touch with Hampshire County Council in 2020 about the worries he had regarding the road

One of their cars which was stored in the garage had to be written off.

‘There were a woman and two children walking down Mortimers Drive, which was just three houses away’, Mr Codrai, 80, said.

He first got in touch with Hampshire County Council in 2020 about the worries he had regarding the road.

His wife Mrs Codrai, 78, said: ‘It has been crazy, the whole thing, and it’s quite terrifying because there were people walking around the road at the time [of the accident].’

The retired midwife has stopped driving because of the way that other vehicles are driven in the area near her house, which faces onto the road.

The neighbours are also calling on the council to fix the bumpy road which exacerbates the ‘noisy’ vibrations.

Philippa Hampton’s house sits a matter of feet from the busy road and said that in her seven years of living there, the road has continued to get busier.

At a Hampshire County Council meeting she attended with the three other residents, she said: ‘As a mum myself of two young children, I find it really nerve-racking walking on the pavement with big, heavy, thundering lorries passing just a couple of feet from us.

Neighbours have complained that the constant stream of traffic has led to broken boilers, damaged water pipes and even led to cars being written off

Aftermath of the crash where a car flipped and ploughed into the garage of Colin and Eugenie Codrai’s home

Fed-up homeowners say their properties have been plagued with problems due to the ‘vibrations’ from ‘thundering’ HGVs passing by on Mortimers Lane in Hampshire

‘One resident told me they witnessed a HGV coming down Mortimers Lane too fast and the back wheels went up on the pavement where two school children were walking.’

Mrs Hampton believes the vibrations from HGVs have caused her boiler to break twice.

She said: ‘In my house, which constantly shakes dramatically, our boiler which is situated in our loft has broken twice, leaking down into my childrens’ bedrooms below.

‘The engineer said it was caused by vibration damage.

‘He also asked if there was a train line nearby as it was so noisy while he was working up there. We need to stop our homes being further damaged’. 

On the volume of traffic that comes down Mortimers Lane, she added: ‘A few weeks ago we did our own traffic survey, during which 361 vehicles went by in 30 minutes.

‘That wasn’t even during rush hour – equating to 722 vehicles an hour, a huge number for what is a 30mph road in a semi-rural village.

‘There are long daily queues during morning and evening rush hour, blocking our driveways and causing pollution.

Philippa Hampton believes the vibrations from HGVs have caused her boiler to break twice

Homeowners have joined forces and called on the Conservative-led Hampshire County Council to restrict the number of HGVs that can travel down the road

‘With the proposals of over 4800 new homes potentially to be built on Mortimers Lane, traffic volumes would increase exponentially.

‘A lot of HGVs use Mortimers Lane from the various businesses operating from Knowle Lane.

‘These lorries go thundering by day and night, some over the 30mph speed limit.’

David Sinclair, a 55-year-old banker, is one of the residents who went to the council meeting with Mrs Hampton – his front door is metres from the road.

He believes his water pipe broke because of the ‘heavy traffic’ on the two-mile-long road.

Mr Sinclair, who has lived on Mortimers Lane for four years, said: ‘I saw comments on Facebook like ‘What do you expect living next to a big road’.

‘I understand that, but part of the problem is the top of Mortimers Lane next to the golf club is 60[mph].

‘When they get from the 60 to the 30, they’re still doing 50 to 60 still until well down this hill.’

Neighbours said that they find it ‘nerve-racking’ to walk on the pavement outside their home

A councillor told the BBC that more than £3m of improvements are going to be made to the road, starting in July or August

He said there have been three serious accidents there in the past 12 months, one of which saw a wall outside his house get smashed into.

‘They must’ve been doing 80 to 90mph because they took out our brick wall,’ he said.

‘Somehow they got out alive. ‘How they got out alive, I don’t know.’

Mr Sinclair’s wife Anita Sinclair, 55, said their house has cracks because of the vibrations caused by HGVs, which can be felt in the beauty salon she runs in her back garden.

She said: ‘There’s a crack in our wall, I can only assume that’s come from that.

‘Our water pipe had also come away underneath. The only way I can think of that being possible over time was the vibrations.’

Mrs Sinclair said one of her clients who lives nearby is ‘terrified’ and feels she is ‘taking her life in her hands’ every time she crosses the road with her disabled son.

A councillor told the BBC that more than £3m of improvements are going to be made to the road, starting in July or August at the earliest.

Councillor Steve Broomfield said the funding is ‘limited’, but that the plans had ’80 to 90%’ of the desired changes including ‘safe crossing points’.

David and Anita Sinclair (pictured) said that there have been three serious accidents on the road in the past 12 months

A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council previously said: ‘We acknowledge the concerns raised by local residents regarding the increased volumes of traffic on Mortimers Lane.

‘We are reviewing the situation and exploring potential measures to address these.

‘We appreciate the community’s patience and cooperation while we identify effective solutions that will benefit both residents and road users.’