Speed signs planned for Eccleshall roads

Villages and parishes including Great Bridgeford and Swynnerton are already using signs to show drivers the speed they driving at.

And Eccleshall is set to follow suit in the coming weeks after eight sites for signs were agreed during a visit to the parish by a highways engineer from Staffordshire County Council last week.

The area’s county councillor Jeremy Pert has teamed up with Eccleshall Parish Council to finance the project. Funds have also come from the Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner through the Safer Roads Partnership scheme.

Councillor Pert said: “The locations are based on maximum impact and community concern, trying to get drivers to slow down.

“The speed of traffic has been a concern for a number of years and this is the latest in a set of projects to try and make drivers more aware of their own speed. This is also letting drivers know there are people who would like them to be respectful of the communities they drive through.”

Sites identified to host the signs include locations on the main Croxton road, the Chester Road entrance to Eccleshall, Newport Road, Newcastle Road and Green Lane.

Parish councillor Peter Jones, who also went on last week’s site visit, said the devices also recorded speeds of vehicles so they could be monitored to identify peak times.

He added: “We raised the money ourselves and we got a grant. We have two (devices) and every two or three weeks we will change the sites.

“When people ask us ‘what are you doing about speeding’ we have a Speedwatch group in the town and now we will have this as well.

“To site the devices the council needed the guidance and approval of the county council’s highways department.

“There were to have (been) 13 sites across the parish. Following the advice of the highways department this has been reduced, but should still provide the coverage that the parish wanted.

“Safety was an issue along with underground cabling etc which could have been damaged if placed in the wrong spot.”