‘More should have been done’ to inform public ahead of A64 fixed speed camera trial

At the end of June, North Yorkshire Police erected its first fixed speed camera on the A64 in Sherburn, which was subsequently vandalised hours before it was due to be turned on. Cllr Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, who represents the area between Scarborough and Malton, had raised concerns about the transparency of the trial, which had a "less than auspicious start". At a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council on Wednesday, July 16, the Hunmanby and Sherburn division councillor asked whether "the executive agrees that the local elected members should have been informed and briefed on the decision prior to conducting the trial in Sherburn?"

She added: "The location of the camera, just before a junction with traffic lights where cars must naturally slow down, has prompted genuine questions from the public. "Does the executive member agree that given the public interest in this decision, the supporting evidence used for assessing potential sites for a fixed camera trial, and the criteria for success or failure of the trial, should be made publicly available?" Cllr Malcolm Taylor, who recently took up the mantle of executive member for highways and transport, said that "the location of the fixed camera on the A64 is part of the strategic road network managed by National Highways and not NYC.

He added: "As this council is only responsible for the local road network, we have had no involvement in the decision-making process around the fixed camera trial, the site selection process, or the trial in any way. "Given that safety cameras are an enforcement tool, this is a project that North Yorkshire Police has led on, and I recognise the legitimate questions that Cllr Donohue-Moncrieff raises" . "I believe these questions should be directed to North Yorkshire Police and the Deputy Mayor for Policing.

At the same time, given the profile and interest that a fixed camera trial was likely to generate, I agree that more ought to have been done to advise the local community and its elected representatives ahead of its going live date."

When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) previously asked North Yorkshire Police about the issue, Ben Moseley, Assistant Chief Constable, said: "The location on the A64 was chosen due to the high volume of speeding offences that were captured by mobile safety vans which, when working in tandem with fixed cameras, can make a significant contribution towards safety by moderating a driver's speed in the local area."

Cllr Taylor also noted that the NYC was part of a project led by North Yorkshire Police into the potential of fixed speed and/or average speed cameras in York and North Yorkshire, and that "we await the outcome of that study with interest."