Council earmarks £30k towards cameras to catch motorists in Stone town centre

Stone Town Council is considering a £30,000 funding pot towards buying automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras as part of next year’s budget.

The street is supposed to be off limits for vehicles between 10am and 4.30pm, with access allowed outside of these hours for traders loading and unloading goods. But many drivers flout the ban, causing concerns for the safety of pedestrians including children and elderly people using the High Street.

The town council has worked with Staffordshire County Council, Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Police in recent years in a bid to enforce the High Street vehicle ban. But bollards installed at the top of the High Street during the day to stop drivers accessing it have been damaged by vehicles, town councillors heard at their latest meeting.

Councillor Rob Kenney, chair of the General Purposes Committee, put forward the budget proposal. He said: “We will be able to go to other authorities to ask them to contribute to the ANPR.

“If you go down the High Street at night it is like a car park. In the market square, outside the library, there are cars parked and further down going towards the takeaways.

“Its an accident waiting to happen. The other day I saw a car go over the ‘road closed’ sign."

Councillor Tom Kelt said: “I support this suggestion. It’s the only way we can keep control of traffic coming down the High Street.

“It is important that when these people are caught breaking the rules they should be penalised.”

Councillor Ian Fordham said: “The safety of our residents – especially our children – has been an issue of several years because of drivers. It needs sorting out before there is a serious injury or fatality.”

Councillor Jill Hood also raised the issue at the latest full Staffordshire County Council meeting. She said: “Our biggest concern at the moment is the High Street; we, the town council, are continually paying out for brand new bollards.

“And then we get people who ignore the no entry sign come round at ridiculous speeds. One hit a bollard so hard that the car was embedded on the bollard.

“We are looking at automated number plate recognition. The town council is quite willing to put in a considerable amount of money.

“But I’m told by the highways department that this is not possible, because if we pursue it and we get it, it is going to cost the county council for every town and village to put in ANPR. I’m hoping that Mr Deaville (the county council’s cabinet member for strategic highways) will look at this – I’ve already spoken to highways.

“We have a beautiful High Street – it’s always packed with families, a large elderly population and mobility scooters and it just isn’t safe. Even when we have events going on in our High Street people are trying to drive down the High Street – you wouldn’t believe the chaos it causes.

“The county council have very kindly extended the opening and closing time of the High Street so that traders can come in after half past four when the schoolchildren have all gone. But it’s not safe – something needs to be done immediately and the solution will be ANPR.”