Graham reports back from Friends of Scholes Park meeting
Cheadle and Gatley Liberal Democrats
Demand more Learn more
Graham reports back from Friends of Scholes Park meeting
Gatley's Lucy Boxes
Sign up for weekly emails
Lib Dem speed camera plan for Cheadle & Gatley
by Lib Dem team on 17 June, 2021
The Lib Dem team are looking at buying speed cameras for Cheadle & Gatley. We’ve found a company that sells solar-powered speed cameras for under £600 each. They can’t be used to fine people, but they can act as a deterrent and information on regular speeders can be passed to the police. Evidence of persistent speeding can also be used to persuade the police to carry out enforcement.
We think this approach is good, but we’ve also looked at the other possibilities. There is now one speed activated sign (that flashes when people speed past it and records the speed they were going at). That’s useful, but the sign is shared between three wards (Cheadle & Gatley, Heald Green and Cheadle Hulme North) so we don’t get it for long. It also doesn’t record number plates, so we’ll know how many people speeded, but have no information on who they are.
Permanent speed cameras are even harder to get. A few years back the Conservatives changed the rules so you couldn’t put up a fixed speed camera until a certain number of people had been killed or seriously injured.
“We’ve seen these cameras used successfully elsewhere,” said Iain. “With a combination of council and community funding, we could install a network of cameras on problem roads, along with warning signs for drivers. We could start recording the repeat offenders – the minority of drivers who commit most of the speeding offences – and work with the Police to take action.”
It’s early days for the plan so we’re interested in what residents think about the proposal.
26 Comments
Iain – could this also be the deterrent to the long standing problem of drivers ignoring the “access only” regulation on the South Park Road estate?
John – the prime intention is to record/deter speeding – doesn’t the camera only operate when it detects a speeding vehicle?
They should not be used as a monitoring system for access.
The question is where to put them to deter speeding? I reckon you would be inundated if you asked for suggestions.
I know South Park has a problem and probably quite a few of the vehicles come from the new estate. The problem is how does anyone from the estate gain access to the M60.
Any suggestions?
Thanks for looking into this Iain. It seems a very good use of funds given the police appear unable to devote enough resources on this issue here to make a dent, and the cost seems relatively low. This way at least it will be possible to highlight the scale of the issue, report repeat offenders and potentially reduce the problem too, as drivers usually slow down for cameras.
I second John’s suggestion above for South Park Road as one prime location for these cameras (both in terms of speeding and illegal access).
Good idea.
Please can I put forward Gatley Road (Cheadle side) as I would guess that well over 50% of vehicles exceed the 30mph limit. Coming from Cheadle if the idiots see the lights are green many are reaching frightening speeds in a big to beat the lights which very pleasingly few do. Heading towards Cheadle it’s a drag race to the bend by Wensley Road but as the drivers don’t know how to drive around corners it’s hard on the brakes just before the bend.
Just give me a speed gun on Styal Rd & I’ll happily do it for the police myself FOR FREE! These speeders need hitting in the pocket, its the only language they understand.
Wearing a hi-viz jacket & pointing a hairdryer at them tends to slow them down too, haha
I can only see this being any use if the Council is permitted, legally, to obtain the details of repeat offenders and write to them warning they will be prosecuted if they do it again. That would require the police to come on board at that point. Frankly, I doubt it would work.
Habitual speeders may well notice the new cameras, but if they receive no notification, would soon realize they are not being used for enforcement.
Do you remember the Watchman cameras Tameside and other councils installed decades ago? Offenders received a visit from a police officer, who requested politely that they refrain from breaking the limit, but as the Watchman cameras were not authorized for enforcement purposes, nothing further happened. Speeders soon realized they could ignore the cameras and so there was little or no improvement in behaviour.
Hi Trevor – yes, it works best when the Police are involved. That’s normally done through a “Community Speedwatch” setup where a local community group manages the cameras and passes on information to the Police. The Police can write to repeat offenders. If we also know that a particular driver speeds along a particular road at 10am most weekdays, they can also come out and do some enforcement, for an easy win.
Is it perfect? No. Is any solution perfect? Not that I’m aware of. It’s a relatively low-cost option that’s been found to deter many drivers from speeding elsewhere.
Ah but it isn’t just £600 is it? Add to that the cost of planning permission, actually siting the thing, maintenance and the resulting paperwork and you’re probably looking at 10 times that. And you can’t write to people and say “do it again and you’ll be prosecuted”, because without legally admissible proof, they won’t be
Hi David – we don’t need planning permission, we can fix them ourselves, there’s little or no maintenance and no paperwork so I don’t think you’re correct on the pricing. As we said in the article, this camera is not legally admissible – the government rules mean we can’t do that.
The answer is simple, all traffic offences fines (speeding / parking on zig zags / jumping traffic lights) should go to the police authority that issued the tickets, this extra revenue would pay for extra Police traffic officers. Doing this would reduce traffic offences and also give the Law Abiding Majority extra Police who when not dealing with delinquent motorists, would be available for other Law Enforcement. Simple
Except, of course, that the primary jib of those extra officers would be raising revenue – this seems to be the main job of the police nowadays, investigating actual crime is too time consuming and too much hard work
Dangerous driving *is* an actual crime and I think it’s a great use of police time. Revenue can only be generated if people are breaking the law so it’s not a tax on the vast majority of people that are law abiding. If this generates additional revenue to supplement the taxes we all pay, that ultimately benefits all of us. I would love to find more ways to slow the dangerous drivers on our local streets – Gatley and Cheadle are not racetracks and it’s no safe, especially for children with less road sense. Often, drivers that don’t drive legally and get stopped by police are found to be breaking other laws too, which is why traffic police are hugely valuable, because they stop bad drivers and in doing so often solve other crimes too.
I would rather have a couple of normal cameras to catch all the thieves who come into the area or cause anti social behaviour
And how do cameras “catch” thieves? The purpose of speed cameras is not to prevent speeding, it’s to profit from it. Effectively its a tax
Also, please look into one for coming down Schools Hill from the John Lewis roundabout. Traffic speeds on the bend and various accidents involving parked cars have occurred as well as general danger to residents when leaving driveways.. Thank you.
High Grove Rd has to be a candidate for one. I estimate we get a fair few everyday doing 50mph plus.
Alan – High Grove Road is a rat run to avoid the right turn ,at the junction. I must admit that I have used it myself on the odd occasion
Yes, High Grove Road is used as a rat run by speeding drivers – but it’s actually a residential street which is home to lots of families and a nursery/school, hence the 20mph limit. We’ve had some scary experiences with our small child. Fortunately it’s part of planned improvements to include physical speed calming measures. So hopefully cameras won’t be needed!
Well done Jane with your High Viz and Hair Dryer!!!
What make is your Hair Dryer ??? I might try that tactic
I’d be happy to chip in to help fund these.
For the second time in less than a week someone in a black hoodie on an Electric Scooter has shoot along Gatley Road On the Pavement at well over 20MPH.
What has the Council got planned to safeguard pedestrians and other road users from this new Menace.
These scooters are presently illegal and uninsured
It’s only a matter of time before there is a serious accident caused by and involving a Electric Scooter
The law of the country is not just advice it is exact. The most obvious example of general law breaking on roadways is Broadway with clear speed limit signs for 20mph max. I doubt that any vehicles bother with that and many big and dangerous trucks are travelling nearer to 40mph or more. As a regular user of South Park Road – because of my home location – I often collect a multiple trail of followers – so close that an emergency slowdown for a child or wandering dog would be disastrous. The Law should be enforced.
Please put a camera at Longley lane junction with park road. Put it on the gatley side of the road then you wouldn’t have to ask Manchester for permission!!
How about putting one at the pedestrian ??? crossing
at Gatley station.
You take a chance crossing there even when the lights are on red
This appears to be yet another attempt by an incompetent Lib Dem team to make it yet harder for drivers to get around.
Don’t think for a second that I think speeding is acceptable – it is not – but there are far more pressing matters in our area than this.
You could put that money to use with CCTV cameras in crime hot spots for example, or even use the funds towards green initiatives such as EV charging points (that actually generate income)
This scheme won’t work. There is no deterrent as people will simply know they won’t get a ticket and carry on. Habitual offenders would have no legal obligation to speak to the police about this even IF they were contacted (they wouldn’t be).
Speak to a lawyer about the actual impact this would have before you assume the police can use the cameras to prosecute.
Hi Sean, thank you for your comments. We’ve explained the legal situation in the article.
The Lib Dem team believe that speeding cars that injure or kill other road users are something we should tackle. We also believe in looking at the evidence about what works, which is what we’re doing.