A WOMAN has written to Cornwall Council highlighting her concerns regarding Newport Square in Launceston.

Laura Hanscombe wrote to the local authority after her father’s property was hit recently by a lorry, meaning the wall had to be taken down and dealt with through an insurance claim.

Ms Hanscombe said although a container prevented parts of the wall falling into her father’s property, she has been forced to park away from the property, and walk to its front door, adding she has to negotiate a ‘dangerous traffic situation’ while doing so.

The Newport Square area of Launceston, at the mini roundabout at Newport, is known for being a bottleneck, with lorries exiting the roundabout on to the A388 and cars entering the roundabout unable to pass each other, with drivers having to give way.

Ms Hanscombe said this means lorries and heavy goods vehicles hit the kerbs and sometimes hit the corner of the White Horse Inn, opposite her father’s property.

She wrote to the council: “As I have feared for so long, a lorry has now hit dad’s property destroying the boundary wall to the main road. Due to this situation I am forced to park my car over the road in the pub car park and on more than one occasion I have had a lorry mount the kerb and miss me by a hair’s breadth.

“I could have been seriously injured.”

She told the Post of another recent experience at Newport Square: “I heard a woman scream. A lorry actually hit the pub wall.”

She expressed particular concern for those with pushchairs and wheel chair users, who have to negotiate the corner alongside the traffic.

She said she hoped her correspondence with the council would enable something to be done to make it ‘less dangerous’, suggesting maybe a one-way system could be implemented, although told the Post she had not yet received a response to her letter.

Ms Hanscombe said a replacement wall is due to be put up, but she is not sure when this work will be carried out.

A spokesperson from Cornwall Council said: “We are aware of the issues around Newport Square with the narrow road making it difficult for large vehicles to negotiate the tight corner easily. The road is also too narrow for us to install wider footways for pedestrians.

“We have recently carried out a study with urban designers to see how things might be improved for pedestrians and vehicles in the town centre. Plans are at an early stage and we are seeking funding as part of the Launceston Transport Strategy.”