Residents close to a popular leisure site and frequented swimming location have told of “horrendous” traffic in the area. Those living close to the Spring Lakes watersports centre - where floating dining pods have recently opened - and the opposite lake owned by Cemex in Long Eaton have shared their struggles living close to the site, describing the roads as a “free-for-all”.
This comes as Derbyshire County Council imposed a traffic regulation order, prohibiting vehicles from waiting at any time and stopping at any time in certain areas. Officials from Spring Lakes, the site located off Pasture Lane, have since told Nottinghamshire Live that attendees are closely monitored and planned sessions at the site are staggered to ensure traffic and car park flow are reasonable.
The lake opposite Spring Lakes, owned by Cemex, has become a hot spot for anti-social behaviour, with members of the public attending and illegally swimming at the site and parking in Pasture Lane - a narrow gravel lane. Now residents have opened up about living close to both sites.
Lorraine Mrvik, 54, a company director who lives in Meadow Lane, said: “It’s horrendous - especially come half term time and weekends. The amount of traffic that comes through here, it’s a free-for-all.
“The whole area is so busy now and it used to be lovely and quiet. I’m not saying Spring Lakes is bad though.
“But it’s got so bad that we’re at the point of thinking about selling the house now.” The traffic regulation order has been put in place for Meadow Lane, Owen Avenue, Trent Lane and Pasture Lane
Elisabeth Duncan, 67, a retiree who lives in Meadow Lane, added: “It’s the queueing that’s the issue. There’s constant queuing. You can not get in and out of your drive. Parking can be busy in the morning though.
“The amount of traffic is a problem and the huge lorries that come through - they make the whole house shake. It's only recently been a problem.
“Spring Lakes is a great facility but it’s not been good for traffic.” While the traffic regulation order extends to several roads off Meadow Lane, some say they haven’t experienced any traffic or parking issues.
Phil Smith, 59, who works at East Midlands Airport and lives in Owen Avenue said: “I wouldn’t say I’ve noticed it. The railway crossing can cause a problem, but parking problems are not something we have personally experienced, but people of Meadow Lane might say differently.
“People have now discovered the lake opposite Spring Lakes, but whoever owns that land has done their bit to fence it off and warn people. The huge lorries that come down here are a problem.”
Steven Barnett, the operations director at Spring Lakes, said: “People who want to swim illegally in the other lake basically drive down and park all over the grass verges. The yellow lines in the area should make the flow of traffic a bit better.
“Open-water swimming is one of those sports that has grown a lot. We did a lot of work around restricting our activities, it makes the flow of our car park a lot better.
“This means if you’ve booked an activity you can always park on-site. It’s more of a 10 in 10 out every hour type of scenario than 500 people all turning up at once. Having things spread out over eight hours is a lot better for our infrastructure.”
A spokesperson for Cemex UK added: “Cemex takes its responsibilities as a landowner seriously and appreciates the frustrations of local residents. We are pleased to see that the council has implemented parking restrictions nearby and hope this will help to reduce the number of people visiting and attempting to access the site.
“We have communicated previously that this is private land and trespassers are not permitted, and there is clear signage to this effect on site. We carry out regular boundary inspections and where necessary, repair, replace, and renew damaged fencing, signage and life buoys.
“These checks will be increasing over the summer and during holiday periods. Any criminal damage is reported to the authorities. We would like to reiterate that quarry lakes are incredibly dangerous and not suitable for swimming – they present a real risk of cold water shock, unknown water depth, the possibility of unknown hazards and other debris beneath the water level.
“This site is not open to the public – please stay away.”
