Irate Perthshire villagers claim they are continually being woken up by delivery lorries going to and from a local bottling plant.
Members of the Blackford Community Action Group state they are so incensed at the noise being generated by the HGVs at the Highland Spring site that members are calling for a new slip road to be built from the nearby A9 Perth to Stirling road.
Some residents claim their houses are literally “shaking” due to the lorries thundering past their homes late at night.
A resident who lives in Moray Street, Blackford, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed many villagers are at their “wits’ end” because of lack of sleep due to heavy diesel lorries “speeding and rattling” down the length of the street.
They also fear they are being forced to inhale “toxic fumes” from the vehicles.
“Why are we being ignored?” she said.
“The local authority has a duty to serve the appropriate notice on the offender or have the nuisance abated or modified. Why if this is the case, are the residents of Moray Street still suffering?”
And she believes the problem could be solved by imposing a curfew on the lorries visiting Highland Spring late at night.
“We may get some sleep that way,” she added.
“The ancient houses of this historical village are shaking with the speed and weight of these huge lorries. Why was this village by-passed over 30 years ago if it was not to stop the heavy traffic?
“Highland Spring should have been made to put their own entrance into their site at their own expense just as Joe Blogs must do for his house.
“Even with all the complaints Perth and Kinross Council have been given over the years about Highland Spring, they still continue to pass plans for them to expand.
“All we get told is that it takes time to get things done. We feel it’s a case of out of sight, out of mind.”
Grant Peacock, of the Blackford Community Action Group, said they have been at odds with Highland Spring for a number of years regarding the matter.
“The lorries are travelling through the night and the problem is we are getting woken up, and once you have been woken up a couple of times at night you get grumpy,” he commented.
“Highland Spring has increased the number of lorries coming and now they travel through the night, which they didn’t do before. We just can’t go on like this.”
Mr Peacock continued: “We are asking for a slip road directly to Highland Spring. It could be built in the next two years and would make a huge difference.”
A spokesperson for Highland Spring confirmed they had been in talks with Perth and Kinross Council to look at possible solutions.
“We are looking at whether the east slip road from the village could be made into a two-way road with a left-hand turn off the A9,” she commented.
“We can’t comment more on progress at this time, but we can confirm that Highland Spring has offered financial support to make this possible.
“We do all we can to minimise the impact of our operations on the local community, including requesting that all drivers adhere to a speed limit of 20mph and also the recent funding and installation of speed signs on Moray Street.”
A council spokesperson added: “We will continue to work with Highland Spring to reduce night time movements of HGVs until a more permanent solution is found.”
Transport Scotland stressed a potential slip road would be the responsibility of Perth and Kinross Council.
