HIGHWAY chiefs have launched an attempt to prevent lorries thundering through the centre of a Hampshire village to reach a business park.

New signs have been installed in a bid to ensure that heavy goods vehicles going to and from Hythe Marine Park – formerly RAF Hythe – use roads on the outskirts of the village.

The £2,000 scheme aims to prevent HGV drivers going through the main shopping area, which is only a few hundred yards from the business park.

Council bosses hope the signs will also ensure that lorries avoid a low bridge that carries the Totton to Fawley railway line over New Road.

Councillor Raymond Ellis, the county council’s executive member for economic development and rural affairs, said the scheme would benefit the whole community. “Local residents were keen that we should put this in place,” he said. “Equally, businesses at the marine park have also welcomed the move, which has helped improve efficiency in terms of deliveries and collections.

“The scheme has proved to be an excellent example of partnership working between the county council and New Forest District Council.”

Councillor Maureen Holding, district council Cabinet member for employment, said: “This new signage is excellent news both for local people and for businesses at Hythe Marine Park. It will improve efficiency by speeding deliveries and will also take heavy traffic away from busy pedestrian areas.”

RAF Hythe, a shipyard used by the US army to repair vessels, closed four years ago with the loss of 200 civilian jobs.

Campaigners fought to save the facility, contributing an estimated £4.5m a year to the local economy and the marine park opened two years later.