Government refuses calls to invest in Bedford Borough road safety

Earlier this month Mayor Dave Hodgson wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport calling on the government to return the fines from average speed cameras to Bedford Borough Council to allow reinvestment in road safety measures. The government have refused this call and instead decided to continue to retain all the money from fines generated by average speed cameras. This means that Bedford Borough residents will not see a penny of these funds invested into new road safety measures.

Mayor Dave Hodgson said "I'm very disappointed in the response from government. It is essential that all road users feel safe on our roads and we are making good progress but it is difficult when we are being held back by government. We are making the investment by installing average speed cameras across the Borough, but then do not receive any money from them to give back to our residents to make our communities feel safer - this doesn't seem fair to me."

Bedford Borough Council and local Parish & Town Councils are united over the need for effective action to cut speeds and make our streets safer. Due to this shared borough-wide priority, the Council became the first local authority in the country to introduce average speed cameras on local roads, in 2012. There are now 31 average speed camera sites, which have proven to be very effective at reducing speeds at previously notorious locations for speeding.

In the letter, Mayor Dave explained why the government should reconsider their policy. He said "[the reinvestment] would help to ensure further communities could enjoy the benefits of measures such as average speed cameras, with the reduction in noise, air pollution and dangerous speeding that they bring about. There would be a clear sense of fairness in using the fines caused by excessive speed to make further neighbourhoods and communities in the local area safer.

"Meanwhile, the use of the funds raised by fines for this purpose would increase confidence further that the cameras are genuinely intended solely to enhance public safety, and not for revenue-raising or any other purposes."