It was good to be at the meeting on Tuesday evening (March 6) where many locals, parish councillors and district councillors turned out to Cowbit Village Hall.
Many from other parishes also came for the open meeting regarding speeding through their villages, forgetting the bad weather conditions and putting their villages first.
It was very informative and organiser Nigel Pepper did a great job getting hold of so many people to attend and kept the meeting in check, making sure everyone that wished to speak had an opportunity to do so.
Many questions were put to the visiting panel, John Siddle and Ian Swallow, Lincs Road Safety Partnership, Insp Gareth Boxall and PCSO Naomi Newell, Marc Jones, Police Crime Commissioner and Richard Davies, Lincs CC Highways Executive. They all showed their support to the community and sympathised, and agreed that it was ongoing and they would do all they could to help the issue.
Coun Nigel Pepper said: “Despite Cowbit residents hearing first hand from LCC Highways Executive that they won’t be getting traffic calming, I felt it was good for the public and parish councillors to air their views and to gain a better understanding of matters.”
The expert Road Safety Partnership officials advised us that although speeding is a concern it is no worse than any other village in Lincolnshire and so Cowbit is not suffering in isolation and therefore it was good to see the bigger picture.
We all know police resources are stretched but everyone hoped the police would take notice of the public’s concerns and have a higher presence in as many villages as possible. It is hoped we will see more local patrols and the police speed camera van sited at strategic points throughout South Holland.
It was good to see Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Davison who is the Lincolnshire County Council County Officer for Public Protection and also lives in Cowbit. Chris said: “I believe a Community Speedwatch Scheme will be an effective way of empowering communities to take action against irresponsible drivers in their villages. Often, many offenders live in the same or neighbouring village.
“Receiving a letter from their own communities, expressing clearly why their actions are dangerous will convince many to drive to an acceptable standard and reduce the risk they pose.”
I personally look forward to working with the police and helping the community where possible and hopefully being involved with the new initiative which is encouraging locals to be trained with hand held speed guns and working in their village to help combat this problem.
If you would like to be part of this initiative and know a group of people who would be willing to join you and be trained to use the equipment, please call me on 07779 895388. I will pass on your details and also try to work with you to achieve a safer environment in South Holland.
Jan Whitbourn
Spalding
