Speed cameras set for Devon highway

You'll be zapped averaging more than 50

Councillors have unanimously backed plans for speed cameras to be installed on the South Devon Highway.

The Devon and Cornwall Safety Camera Partnership are supportive of the plans which would cost the council £285,000 and now require funding approval to be granted by the county council’s cabinet.

Councillor Alistair Dewhirst, Local County Councillor for Kingskerswell, who has been calling for the cameras since the road opened in 2015, said: “I’m over the moon about this and delighted to see this come before the committee. I am delighted that officers have seen how successful Average Speed Cameras have been on Telegraph Hill and are now recommending that the County Council acts on behalf of Kingskerswell residents affected by the intolerable noise and pollution from the Highway. It needs to be remembered why we have a 50mph speed limit on the road – it is for the amenity of those local residents.”

Councillor Gordon Hook added: “They are a success around the country and the evidence is crystal clear that vehicles slow down and adhere to whatever is being asked of them by the cameras. It will also improve amenity for nearby residents. In the summer it has been a choice between deafening noise and the windows being open or living in a sauna, and that is not acceptable. We must do something and it must be enforced.”

The Cabinet later in the year will be asked to provide the £285,000 of funding for the cameras.