Aberdeen City Council has renewed efforts to restrict HGV movements through residential areas surrounding the city’s South Harbour, amid continuing complaints from communities in Torry, Cove, Altens and Burnbanks.
At a meeting of the council’s Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee on 8 September, councillors discussed whether measures including CCTV could be used against HGVs failing to follow designated routes.
The council has written to the Scottish Government seeking additional civil enforcement powers, as enforcement of existing restrictions currently falls to Police Scotland, according to the BBC.
Committee convener Ian Yuill said CCTV enforcement was among the matters raised with the Scottish Government.
No new HGV restriction or penalty has yet been introduced.
Dedicated HGV route not due until 2028
The dispute centres on access to Aberdeen South Harbour, the £420 million port expansion completed in 2023.
The facility provides deep-water berths and substantial space for cargo and project operations, including energy-sector and heavy-lift traffic. The port can accommodate ships up to 300 metres long, while its South Harbour development was specifically designed to broaden Aberdeen’s ability to handle larger and more complex cargo operations.
A new Aberdeen South Harbour Link Road is intended to provide a better connection between the port and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.
Plans include upgrades to Hareness Road and Coast Road and a new bridge over the Aberdeen–Dundee railway line.
One of the project’s stated objectives is to reduce HGV journey times between South Harbour and the city bypass while cutting lorry traffic through Torry and Cove. It is also intended to accommodate abnormal loads serving the port and nearby energy businesses. Completion is now expected in 2028.
Traffic surveys found HGVs using residential route
Concerns over harbour traffic are not new. ANPR surveys commissioned as part of the link-road project found HGVs using Coast Road as a through route via Torry. For one of the movements examined, the surveys recorded an average 43 HGV trips between 07:00 and 19:00, with 96–97% travelling via Victoria Road.
Council documentation subsequently concluded that HGVs were using Coast Road through both Torry and Cove, while similar numbers of lorries accessing South Harbour and the Nigg Waste Water Treatment Works were travelling via Torry rather than the preferred Hareness Road route.
Officials had previously considered a width restriction on St Fittick’s Road to prevent Coast Road being used as a through route through Torry.
However, in September 2025 the council decided not to proceed immediately with that restriction. It said a permanent traffic-management solution could not be implemented until the new South Harbour Link Road opened and ordered further consultation on potential HGV restrictions instead.
Residents call for enforcement, not just signs
The latest debate has focused increasingly on enforcement. David Fryer of Torry Community Council told councillors that residents were dealing with vehicles ranging from conventional HGVs to abnormal loads.
“We feel the residential communities, particularly Torry, has been battered very hard,” he said, adding that road signs alone would not solve the problem without effective enforcement.
Councillor Marie Boulton raised the possibility of CCTV cameras being used to identify HGVs that ignore designated harbour routes.
The council has also agreed to investigate the feasibility, cost and potential funding of a new section of footway along Coast Road between Burnbanks village and Burnbanks railway bridge.
For hauliers, the immediate position therefore remains unchanged. However, the council’s request for additional enforcement powers raises the possibility that route restrictions around South Harbour could ultimately become actively enforced rather than relying primarily on signage and police action, particularly once the new link road is in place.
