I WRITE in response to Ms Jill Clark, (Letters, June 27) about the trial 7.5 tonne HGV ban on the B6161.

The Otley road is a ‘B’ road and, therefore, was not constructed for the size of lorries that now thunder through the village. Adding to the risk the pavement is not wide enough in some places for a wheelchair or a double buggy, making getting around the village precarious and dangerous.

Anyone who regularly travels on the B6161 will know that the primary school is directly alongside the road – indeed a classroom and the playing areas are only feet away from the thundering lorries. Also directly on the Otley road is the children’s day care nursery, the church, village hall, pre-school, access to the cricket ground and the glebe. Fortunately there have not been any recent fatal accidents on the B6161, however nor have there been on the stretch of A61 under discussion.

There have been many accidents on the B6161, particularly on the junctions with Gainbeck Lane and Lund Lane.

The previous letter stated that a new Tesco is imminent; in fact there isn’t even a current planning application!

Whilst a by-pass would be the ideal solution, in the meantime, a trial ban will enable a fair and objective assessment of the impact of the traffic, allowing a permanent decision to be made with all the evidence, instead of making untested assumptions. We will continue to wave our banners!