Campaigners who spent years calling for a refined bypass to alleviate traffic say 'the majority of HGVs' have been 'taken out' of the heart of Gedling Village since the road opened earlier this year. Francis Rodrigues, secretary of the Gedling Village Preservation Society, played a crucial role in opposing the original route of the £49m Gedling Access Road.
With the society set up in 1977, the campaigners argued the original safeguarded route would have "severed the local community" with it suggested to go through the centre of the village. After a staunch objection, the original route, which would have cut through Willow Park, was dropped and the green open space saved.
A number of alternative routes were considered but the closure of Gedling Colliery - in 1991 - presented more options. The plans were revised to realign the road across the old pit site, rather than to completely bypass it, which has also enabled future homes to be built on the former colliery site.
