ANGRY residents on Portland expressed concern about changes to Easton Square’s road system ahead of the opening of a new Tesco superstore.

A public meeting at Easton Methodist Church yesterday was attended by residents as well as representatives from Dorset County Council, Tesco representatives and the store developer.

The meeting, arranged by county councillor Les Ames, gave residents an opportunity to have their say on the new one-way system, pavement build-outs and traffic lights, as well as the construction vehicle movements.

Easton Square resident June Morley said the road changes already had a negative impact on the area and would worsen once the store opens.

She said: “I care about where I live and the people I live with around here.

“You’ve destroyed my quality of life, you’re breaching my human rights and destroying a conservation area.

“You’ve devalued my property and every evening from 4pm I have to sit with my curtains closed because of the headlights beaming in my front room.”

Coun Ames said there was anger that construction vehicles serving the Tesco site in Park Road were using the ‘haul road’ opposite Pennsylvania Castle as an alternative access route while roadworks were carried out in Easton Square.

He said this idea had been dismissed as ‘an impossibility’ at earlier planning meetings despite residents saying it would release a lot of the pressure and added: “We’ve been ignored and not been told the truth.”

Richard Thomas, of Tesco developers Chelverton Deeley Freed, said: “The only reason we’re using the haul road at the moment is because of the pressure due to roadworks in Easton Square.

“The last thing we wanted to do was make it worse.

“We’ve got a temporary agreement with Stone Firms that for a period of time we can come though there.”

Bill Green, Dorset County Council highways project co-ordinator, responded to residents’ concerns that lorries would not be able to turn around in the square, saying a nationally-recognised computer programme had checked this out but if a safety audit proved otherwise, changes would be made.

He added that roadworks were postponed from December in response to traders concerns about the impact to Christmas trade and now worked to a ‘condensed programme.’ The Rev Chris Briggs said: “One of the concerns is the pavement bulges which aim to give pedestrians places to cross but some of us fear if it will have a knock on effect with vehicles struggling to turn and causing a genuine safety concern.

“Lorry drivers are usually very good but with the best will in the world there will be an accident some day.

“The other thing is there’s a fair amount of anger about lorries coming into the site by another route.

“A lot of people asked for that route from day one and were told it was an impossibility – that was not correct.”

Coun Ames said every effort should have been made to relieve people who live in Easton Square.

He pledged to continue to fight to have the haul road made public said he would arrange a meeting with landowner Stone Firms to discuss the issue.