Highways Update  August 25

Bellamy’s Lane area of B4042

Aim: Permission for the siting of a SID pole and also for a Community Speed Watch (CSW). (Residents from around Bellamy’s Lane are willing to set up and run a CSW which will be able to operate across the village. To get a SID pole and permission for the CSW a traffic survey has to be done and the 85percentile speed needs to be a minimum of 46mph in a 40mph zone.

A previous metro count (traffic survey) was performed in 2021 and this had a 85 percentile of 46mph however as this was performed over 12months ago the Wiltshire Council required a more up to date traffic survey.

The traffic survey took place late February/early March this year. The 85 percentile speed was 45.09mph coming from Swindon into the village and 44.09mph exiting the village. I have applied to WC (Wiltshire Council) for permission to raise the request for the SID pole and CSW based on the fact that we are 0.1 mile below the required level and that the previous traffic survey was the required 46mph. I am waiting for WC to confirm. If the pole is refused I will immediately request another traffic survey to be done during school term time.

Update: WC have given permission for the SID pole. Next steps is to apply to WC for funding, siting and installation of the pole.

Village SIDs

We have sightings for 5 places for SIDs in the village. The Street, Barnes Green, School Hill, Stopper’s Hill and Callow Hill. We had two SID’s but Brinkworth Parish Council agreed to purchase a third SID this year which is now in operation. Unfortunately due to road works and diversions I have had to keep one of the SID’s at Callow Hill and one at Barnes Green which only leaves one SID free to roam. One of the SID’s needs to go away for maintenance. The BPC have agreed to budget for an additional SID this year which will mean that we can spread the use of the SID’s on a more regular timescale. 

Residents are increasingly advising me that they are experiencing lorries speeding and so I have not yet purchased the additional SID as I am investigating getting a device that can detect the type of vehicle that is speeding (whether it’s a lorry etc. and one that records the license plate) and can produce speeding reports (most devices seem to only produce a single report for each vehicle).  Unfortunately the police cannot use the license plate to give a ticket to speed offenders but we will be able to work out where the lorries are coming from. 

The SID’s appear to reduce the number of speeding vehicles by 6%.

Re volume of traffic I will soon be able to determine if the volume of traffic is increasing. I think the volume of traffic is increasing everywhere. I do not have enough data from the SID’s to confirm this at the moment. I think all we can do is keep a check on it so we are aware but I’m not sure there is much WC Highways can do about an increase in the volume of traffic.

SID data is not showing an increase in speeding volumes or the speed. A traffic survey done at the beginning of the year at various spots along the B4042 from Malmesbury to Royal Wootton Bassett by the police did not show an increase.

Little Foxes

Re Little Foxes. WC Highways were asked to look at the situation regarding Little Foxes in 2023 and this together with the traffic survey report performed along the B4042 , Highways recommended to the BPC to have SLOW signs painted on the road both North and South either side of Little Foxes. This was done earlier this year. We do not have recorded or knowledge of any accidents at Little Foxes although people have said to me that they have had to stop abruptly and there have been near misses.

Callow Hill

I met with people from Callow Hill this year and they have reported concerns re the traffic going through Callow Hill and Callow Hill Crossroads. Only accidents where there are casualties get recorded by the police and they have 3 recorded since 2022. I have asked people to keep me notified of all accidents and I now have a total of 6 accidents recorded. From what residents are telling me I do not feel that this number of accidents is a true representation of the number of accidents so I am asking all residents to let me know about any accidents that they have witnessed.- see below.

Everyone has a different opinion as to what causes the accidents at Callow Hill Crossroads. My personal opinion is that it is a mixture of visibility and that the speed is too fast for the crossroads (not necessarily that people are speeding although I suspect in cases this could be true also). However as I and the BPC are not experts and we need to make sure that the appropriate action is taken to reduce the risk of accidents, in June I raised two requests for WC Highways to assess both Callow Hill and Callow Hill Crossroads.   At the July LHFIG (Local Highway and Footpath Improvement Group) meeting WC approved the request to perform an assessment at both sites. This is likely to take at least two months.  I  also think it is likely that due to budget constraints, action will not be taken until next year, however at least we will know what they are recommending.  I will be providing all the information I can to WC Highways during the assessment and I will be asking them to seriously consider reducing the 50mph speed. I am aware however that this apparently was reviewed in 2016 and was refused and the speed limits are dependant on National Highways rules. I am hoping that views have now changed. I have also raised suggestions made by the residents and will pass on photos that I have been given to WC Highways during the assessment.

In addition to this, I raised at the BPC meeting in June as to how we could keep a check on the hedges at Callow Hill Crossroads and the BPC sent out letters to all the landowners on each of the corners requesting that they cut their hedges. Although the visibility issues will be reviewed as part of the WC Highways assessment, as this will take two months to complete WC Cllr Threlfall has requested that WC Highways review the hedges as soon as possible. Following that, the residents will be notified if any action is required and where it is required.

Accident Notification

I want to keep a log of all traffic accidents/collisions in the village.  I would be grateful if you could notify me via email of any accidents. . To keep it accurate/factual I only want to be notified if you have seen a collision or seen the aftermath of an accident, not hearsay. If you could provide as much information as possible such as:

Date

Location

Direction of vehicles/Description

Number of vehicles

What happened?

Were people hurt?

Any damage to vehicles/surroundings?

Many thanks for your help, Cllr Sheila Smith, Brinkworth Parish Council