Police were called after the huge five-axle German HGV wedged its wheels between the two large bollards next to the Castle Street Flowers stall at around 10pm on September 29, blocking the road for the best part of an hour.
A spokesman for Surrey Police confirmed PCSOs eventually helped the lorry manoeuvre off the bollards, and no significant damage was caused to the lorry, bollards or florist building.
The owner of Castle Street Flowers, Carl Wilson, later told The Herald HGVs get stuck on the corner of Castle Street and The Borough “almost every day”, and many motorists held up on Thursday also took to Facebook to air their frustrations at Farnham’s HGV issues.
One eyewitness, Gail Wilson-Whattingham posted on the Farnham Rants page: “Just come down Castle Street. Foreign lorry can’t get round into The Borough without taking the flower shop with him. So far out cars have to go onto the pavement by HSBC.
“Why are such big lorries allowed in our market town. Bad enough now [at 9pm] what about rush hour?”
Surrey County Council has long talked about tackling the town’s HGV problem and in December 2012, county highways officers proposed introducing an 18 tonne weight limit in Castle Street and Folly Hill to limit “unnecessary through movements by large HGV vehicles” in Farnham town centre to improve pedestrian safety.
A subsequent report to the council’s Waverley Local Committee acknowledged “central Farnham’s constrained street pattern makes it difficult to manoeuvre very large vehicles which can compromise safety for pedestrians”, and councillors agreed to put the proposed weight limits out to public consultation.
However, according to the county council, Surrey Police refused to support the proposals and so the consultation was never undertaken. Almost four years later, Farnham’s HGV problem is as bad as ever.
A Surrey County Council spokesman said: “Unfortunately because the town centre is made up of A roads it is very difficult to impose any restrictions as it would likely draw objections from other organisations.
“The consultation never went ahead because it wasn’t supported by Surrey Police - they are the ones with the power to enforce any restrictions so any changes have to agreed to by them first.
“We are, however, currently looking an alternative scheme which would help the current situation in the area. It’s something we have studied and are expecting a full report into the idea in the near future."
Surrey Police had not replied to The Herald’s request for a comment as the paper went to press.
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