Helping us understand how Anchorage Road is used
Portsmouth City Council is reviewing the existing 7.5 tonne HGV ban restriction on Anchorage Road.
The restriction was introduced to help reduce the impacts of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) on residents, including concerns about noise, vibration and air quality. However, concerns have still been raised about HGV movements along the route, and the council is also reviewing how the current Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) supports the restrictions.
What we are doing?
Portsmouth City Council are to implement an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) which will temporarily revoke the existing 7.5 tonne HGV ban. Data has been collected prior to the ETRO and will be collected during. This data should provide key information in traffic behaviour on Anchorage Road and surrounding roads and will form part of the decision whether to make the ETRO permanent.
The data collected will include:
- Traffic volumes
- Vehicle types
- Vehicle speeds
- Modal counts
- Other data relating to how the road network operates
The experiment will help us understand:
- How Anchorage Road is currently being used
- Whether the existing restriction is achieving its intended purpose
- How traffic may change if the restriction is removed
- Any impacts on neighbouring roads and the wider transport network
- The potential effects on residents, businesses and road users
- Traffic monitoring equipment will remain in place throughout the trial period. Some equipment may not always be visible from the roadside, but all monitoring will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the scheme.
How the review will work
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Baseline monitoring
Baseline data collected prior to the ETRO will be analysed and compared with data collected during the ETRO.
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Experimental Traffic Regulation Order
The existing 7.5 tonne HGV ban will be temporarily revoked, allowing us to assess how traffic patterns change during the trial period.
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Public consultation
The ETRO will run for 6 months, which will serve as the consultation period. During this time, residents, businesses and other interested parties can provide feedback. All comments, objections and representations received will be formally recorded and included in a Decision Report for the Cabinet Member for Transport.
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Review and decision
Once the consultation period has ended, we will review the monitoring data alongside the feedback received from the community and stakeholders.
A report will then be presented to the Cabinet Member for Transport, who will consider all the evidence before deciding whether the weight restriction should remain, be amended, or be removed.
Why are we doing this?
We want to ensure that any future decision about Anchorage Road is based on evidence and a clear understanding of how the route and wider road network operate.
By collecting traffic data and listening to feedback from residents, businesses and road users, we can better understand the impacts of the existing restriction and the implications of any future changes.
The review will consider factors including traffic movement, road safety, network resilience, environmental impacts and local amenity, helping us make a balanced and informed decision.
Have your say
The ETRO will run for 6 months, which will serve as the consultation period. During this time, residents, businesses and other interested parties can provide feedback by contacting the TRO Team.
All feedback received will be carefully considered alongside the traffic monitoring data before any final decision is made.
