Concerns raised over Bellway Homes sign in Oakham at town council meeting

Councillors have raised concerns about signage that they say directs construction vehicles through a town centre.

Coun Raymond Payne (Lib Dem), Rutland County Council’s adviser to Oakham Town Council, told councillors that yellow signs for the Barleywoods development had appeared in town.

He said during the meeting on Wednesday (July 10): “Firstly, I cannot understand why the developers for the ‘Barleywoods’ site would even imagine it was a good idea to have thundering great lorries going through the town centre all day long, when there is a perfectly good, and I would add, safe route for them to follow on the ring-road bypass."

He called the signs 'illegal', adding: "Only highways can put signage up and only then with permission. None of these signs has Highways permission, and one of them has even been hung on temporary scaffolding outside Victoria Hall."

He said the highways department at Rutland County Council had contacted the developers.

Bellway Homes is behind the Barleywoods development, of 62 homes in Braunston Road.

A spokesperson for Bellway said after the meeting: “The signage for Barleywoods is to advertise the development to house buyers, not construction traffic, and are standard sales signage for new homes developments. All of the locations of these signs have been approved by Rutland County Council.

“As a responsible developer, construction traffic follows routes agreed with Rutland County Council as part of the planning process and this is communicated with our contractors and suppliers. The only signage for construction traffic is outside the development.”

Coun Payne said in response that the signs were "clearly not stopping the construction lorries".