Tractor crashes into historic home
A tractor has ripped out the corner of a 15th-century listed home in a village near Bath, causing major structural damage.
The Kemp family woke on Sunday morning to the sound of crashing boulders at their home in Norton St Philip.
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Police were called and a structural engineer from Mendip District Council attended to check that the house at Town Barton was safe.
As a result of the damage, structural supports have been put in place and the family has been told not to use a first floor sitting room above the damaged wall.
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Homeowner Jane Kemp said that on impact the tractor had displaced large boulder-type stones and there was now a large crack in the outside wall, letting light into the ground floor.
Norton St Philip is a conservation area and there is a 7.5-tonne vehicle weight limit except for access.
But villagers claim the limit is often ignored by HGV drivers using narrow roads as a short cut to reach the A36 or Radstock.
Mrs Kemp said: "It is ridiculous. We still have massive lorries coming through the village and the situation appears to have got worse in the past 12 to 15 months.
"We have no raised pavement outside our house and I really fear for the children who regularly walk to and from school along these narrow roads."
Villagers have also complained of speeding in the village and the accident has galvanised villagers into holding a public meeting to try to find solutions to the traffic problems. High on the agenda is introducing a 20mph speed limit throughout the village. The date and venue of the meeting is still to be confirmed.
Resident Derek Archer has lived in the village since 1980 and said signs warning drivers of the weight restriction were inadequate particularly on the A36.
He said: "We are still getting heavy lorries coming through the village.
"In my opinion drivers using sat-nav are driving through Norton St Philip despite the weight restrictions and that includes a lot of foreign vehicles."
Comments
by grumbles1
Friday, October 12 2012, 6:34PM
“A tractor has ripped out a wall of a house, why all the talk of HGV's?
I fail to see the connection.”