'Kettering speed hump is damaging our homes - and council won't remove it'

Fed-up residents who live yards away from a Kettering speed hump have pleaded for it to be removed because it's the likely cause of damage to their homes.

Thousands of motorists each day travel over the Lake Avenue hump - the second in from the Trading Post roundabout - including many trucks and lorries.

Some homeowners in nearby Moorhouse Way say they can feel their house shake, and a structural engineer has concluded superficial cracks which have appeared in their houses are likely to be from sustained exposure to ground borne vibration.

But Northamptonshire Highways have told a resident there would be no highway benefit in removing the hump and that they would only consider doing so if there was a successful insurance claim - although they won't tell residents what they would deem to be successful enough to warrant its removal.

One Moorhouse Way resident, Andy McCreary, is so exasperated he's been left contemplating whether it would be easier to remove the speed hump himself and face the consequences.

He said: "They can see the cracks and we've got a report that says it's likely to be from the speed hump, but they don't seem to care.

"They say there's no highway benefit in removing it - what about the benefit to the houses it's damaging?"

Mr McCreary, 37, moved to the street in 2010 and said he had no issues until a few years ago when the house started to vibrate more as vehicles passed over the hump. On one occasion a glass ornament fell and smashed, and on another water in a cup on a desk began to ripple. Cracks began forming around door frames, stairs, walls and ceilings in about 2020 and floorboards began to creak.

He said he knows of about five houses in the street with issues and many cracks have appeared since areas were redecorated.

Melvyn Browne, 72, lives opposite him and moved to the street in 1999. He said traffic has increased by about 75 per cent since and he has a crack outside his house which structural engineers have said is not down to subsidence.

He said: "There's always vibration - it's very frustrating."

The house closest to the speed hump is occupied by Bahadur Singh, who has lived there for more than 20 years.

Mr Singh said they have suffered a number of cracks, that their house shakes when a lorry goes over the hump and that they would rather see a zebra crossing in place.

He said: "We need it to be taken out. We just want peace and quiet."

A structural engineer's report, commissioned by some Moorhouse Way residents, found it was likely that the homes are suffering from superficial cracks as a result of sustained exposure to ground borne vibration. They recommended that the residents went back to the highways authority and requested that consideration was given to other forms of traffic calming instead.

But Northamptonshire Highways, who were first told of the issue in 2020, told them they won't remove the hump and are not considering alternative traffic calming measures such as a 20mph limit or chicanes.

Emails sent by a council officer, seen by the Northants Telegraph, said that removing humps would mean increased speeds and make it less safe for people crossing or turning out of side roads. They said that a 20mph zone and the removal of a speed hump would not be compatible as people would speed up if the hump was taken away, adding that if a zebra crossing was installed it would most likely be on the existing speed hump.

One email said: "We can only use our budget for purposes which are justified on highway grounds and our work must also be for the wider public benefit of road users.

"The money we use is public money, so we must aim to maximise public benefits from the schemes we carry out, within the legal duties placed on us and the policies and aims set for us by [the] council."

They said they would not remove the hump unless it was proven to be instrumental in damage in a successful insurance claim. But Mr McCreary, who has already provided the engineer's report, says the council officer would not tell him what they would deem to be a successful claim which would warrant the hump's removal.

It's left Mr McCreary unwilling to put in a claim and potentially face higher premiums, or spend tens of thousands of pounds on a 'wild goose chase' on extra reports and legal costs, because he does not know if the highways authority would accept it and remove the hump even if it was successful.

He said: "I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

"It will be a never-ending cycle of damage unless the root cause is addressed and the only way to do that is to remove the speed hump."

The office worker, who has offered to do the work himself to save the council money, has been left with superficial cracks which he believes will reappear even if he decorates.

He added that, while the speed humps may have been appropriate when they were installed, they are now causing problems.

He said: "It's getting worse and it's all over the house. I don't see why I should just accept it.

"Would they accept it if it was them? It's damaging our homes and it's affecting our lives."

A North Northamptonshire Council spokesman said: “We are aware of the resident’s concerns and have been liaising with him.

“Road safety is a priority for the council and the placement and installation of traffic calming measures is done based on evidence.

“Removal or altering any road safety measures would need to be considered very carefully and the wider consequences assessed.”