Angel traders petition for ban on cleaning machines - blamed for cracks in York stone pavements

Published: 21 May 2010
by PETER GRUNER

A £50,000 “green-machine” that cleans pavements has been branded a “destructive menace” by traders at the Angel.

The 2.1-ton, driver-controlled machine – about the weight of an average family car – is being blamed for cracking York stone pavements the length of Essex Road.

Islington Council maintains the Precinct  machine – said to do the work of three road sweepers – is not responsible for damaged pavements. Instead, it blames utility companies.

But businesses in the area have organised a 500-signature petition calling for the machines to be banned, at least in areas where there are traditional pavements, and replaced by road sweepers.

Conservative community activist Larry Dorsett launched the campaign against the machines with support from the party’s unsuccessful council candidate, Oriel Hutchinson.

WG Miller, the funeral director with an Essex Road office close to Cross Street, supports the ban.

Director Peter Miller said: “The old pavements outside our premises can’t take the sheer weight of one of these machines. Our front pavement collapsed once and the council had to repair it. 

“They are just too heavy, too noisy and the council should employ a couple of blokes with brooms instead.”

The machines, which run on diesel, use brushes to clean roads, gulleys and the pavement. There is concern that cellars beneath the pavements could be undermined.

Fishmonger Steve Hatt said: “Our pavements are just not designed for these vehicles, which have a concentrated not evenly spread weight. “ 

Mr Dorsett said: “We’ve discovered at least 200 broken pavements the length of Essex Road, from Camden Passage to Essex Road station, which traders are blaming on the sweeping machines.

“I don’t know how widespread these machines are in Britain but I understand that in Italy they are banned because of damage they can cause to old pavements.”

Campaigners are seeking clarification from police about the legality of using the machine on pavements. 

The Road Traffic Act of 1988 prohibits the driving of a motor vehicle elsewhere than on the road unless saving life in an emergency.

Ms Hutchinson said: “They are supposed to be green but they spew out diesel fumes and worry old folk and children when they run onto the pavement.”

A council spokesman said the Precinct machines were designed to be driven on pavements and roads. 

“The council’s highways team have investigated and repaired some damage to paving on parts of Essex Road, but this wasn’t attributed to the use of Precinct machines,” he added. 

“In some areas of Islington there are cellars beneath the pavement, which make it unsafe to use the machines in case they fall through. On these streets, manual sweeping is carried out instead. 

“This is a problem on some of the raised areas of Essex Road, which is why the machines are no longer used along there.”