Shropshire town residents willing to take legal action over speeding concerns

Minutes from a recent Ellesmere Town Council meeting state that a resident’s group in Grange Road are worried about speeding on the A528 and Shropshire Council ‘are failing in their duty of care to keep people safe’.

However, the town council clerk, Jo Butterworth, said that in order for a Road Traffic Order to be amended, a proven problem with speeding must be identified.

“Regular speed checks have failed to identify a problem,” said Ms Butterworth.

“The West Mercia Road Safety team need to confirm that an issue has been identified before Shropshire Council can consider the request for the reduction in speed limit and this has not been possible.”

Ms Butterworth added that she has been liaising with residents in Grange Road to outline the process and to suggest that a Community Speed Watch is formed.

A Shropshire Council spokesperson said: “The A528 Grange Road has been added to our priority list for consideration in line with other priorities and available funding.

“Funding is extremely limited and needs to consider many demands and needs across the county, with current funding focussed on personal injury accident sites. This site has no related speed accident history and therefore would not be classed as a ‘high priority’ for our traffic engineering team budget at this time.

“However, we would invite support from the town council to help us prioritise what we may be able to do through the ‘Place Plan’ process, which utilises other funding opportunities.

“Any change in the speed limit will be based on the existing 85th percentile speeds and that will determine necessary traffic measures, which will significantly increase funding requirements. The introduction of street lighting will also require significant additional funding.

“The existing introduction of a 40mph speed limit would have been seen appropriate for the nature of the road, environment, and use, which is very similar to many other locations around the county.

“We also suggest that the speeding concerns are also raised with the local police who are responsible for the enforcement of speed limits across Shropshire.”