Town councillors have supported plans to stop HGVs using a narrow Wiltshire street after “repeated damage” to cars and buildings.

A highways improvement request was submitted to Chippenham Town Council, reportedly by Cllr Liz Alstrom, to stop large vehicles using Union Road.

The request claimed an HGV recently hit a parked car on the street while there have been multiple other incidents reported.

Plans are already under consideration to make the narrow street one-way and if approved would mean traffic can only travel down the hill from Old Road and the railway station onto the busy A420 New Road.

But the town council’s planning committee has since supported this second request, and the Local Highways and Footpaths Improvement Group (LHFIG) will now consider if any further changes are necessary.

Speaking in support of the proposal Cllr Matthew Short explained it had been put forward after multiple reports of incidents involving HGVs on the road.

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An incident on Union RoadAn incident on Union Road (Image: Chippenham Town Council) He said: “This was put in by Cllr (Liz) Alstrom in response to a number of incidents and complaints and car damage that had occurred.

“There’s already an application in progress for Union Road so I think the thought was this could be considered as part of that.

“It might be an addendum to that to improve the overall safety.”

The request suggested a sign warning drivers that the road is “unsuitable for HGVs”.

This would be installed on Old Road at a point that would allow any lorry drivers to turn around before heading down the hill.

Councillors ultimately decided to support this proposal and to treat it as separate to the ongoing plans for a one-way system.

Union RoadUnion Road (Image: Paul Wiltshire) The request claimed that HGV drivers are currently directed down Union Road by their satnavs and councillors agreed many may not realise how narrow it is until it is too late.

It said: “HGVs are often sent down Union Road in Chippenham as their satnavs use it as a suggested route, however it is a very narrow street and the large vehicles have caused repeated damage to the buildings, and business signs as they try to navigate the tight corners.

“The latest incident took place on Friday, September 13, where an HGV hit a parked vehicle when trying to turn from Union Road onto New Road.”

Work remains ongoing on the proposal to make the road a one-way system but in September the council said a decision was yet to be made.