Alresford Salads, a leading watercress producer employing over 150 people, welcomed the meeting hosted at its Nythe site by Steve Brine, MP for Winchester on Wednesday 23rd September to discuss lorry movements in Alresford as well as the proactive steps the business has taken to reduce its impact on the town.
The meeting, chaired by Mr Brine, was attended by Councillor Ernie Jeffs (Winchester County Council), Councillor Jackie Porter (Hampshire County Council), Councillor Lisa Griffiths (New Alresford Town Council) and Jan Field (Chairman of Alresford Society).
It was concluded from published traffic management reports that Alresford Salads contributes to less than 30% of the heavy vehicle movements through the town and the business was able to demonstrate how it had voluntarily achieved a 15% reduction in lorry movements in 2015 versus the previous year through greater load consolidation. In addition, the business has been operating and enforcing a self-imposed traffic window in order to restrict movements between the hours 22:00 and 06:00.
Alresford Salads supported the agreement made at the meeting to review lorry movements of other companies using the designated route through Alresford Town that account for over 70% of the heavy vehicle traffic. The business also welcomed the decision to re-examine the proposed options for improvement identified in the 2014 Hampshire County Council traffic management study.
Following the meeting Steve Brine, MP for Winchester & Chandler's Ford commented: "I promised at this year's General Election that I would bring the key players together because, despite all that's been said in recent years, a number of them have not sat down with Alresford Salads to understand the business and the evidence we now have about lorry movements through The Soke.
"The reductions in lorry movements already made are very welcome and Alresford Salads deserve credit for being part of the solution but we can go further if we work together on the other 70%.
"I hope this meeting marks a new conciliatory chapter in what is a long-running story that recognises Alresford is a thriving market town with a successful economy but strives to keep the town centre as a quality place to live and work."
Jan Field, Chairman of the Alresford Society added: "It is a considerable advance that the HGV problem in Alresford town centre is being taken very seriously by our MP, Steve Brine, by Councillors, and by Alresford Salads itself. This was a constructive meeting and if further steps to reduce HGV traffic (from all sources) can be achieved, this will be a major step forward."
Alresford Salads is committed to continuing to invest in its site along with looking at ways to reduce its impact on the town wherever possible. The business believes that it is a responsible local employer with a strong commitment to the area, as proven through its 'Growing Together' extensive educational food programme and its support for local community projects and charities.
Pictured; Steve Brine with schoolchildren from Sun Hill juniors at the Alresford Salads 'Design a salad' stall at the Watercress Festival earlier this year