Village Speeding Concerns prompt action

Local residents have been working with Police and the Local Authority to tackle speeding in South Powys.

Residents of Trefecca, near Talgarth reported an increase in speeding and overall volume in traffic in the village earlier this year.  The issue had been exacerbated by the long term closure of the A479, Talgarth to Abergavenny trunk road (via Pengenffordd) which only recently re-opened to vehicular traffic.

Local residents raised the matter with local leaders which led to a site visit by Dafydd Llywellyn – Police and Crime commissioner for Dyfed-Powys Police.

Partnership working between local people, town, and county councillors and Dyfed-Powys Police resulted in the establishment of a GoSafe safety camera site in the village.  This site allows the mobile GoSafe casualty reduction vehicle to record and prosecute offences within the village.  During the months of June and July a total of 103 vehicles had exceeded the threshold on the B4560 when the GoSafe vehicle was present.  In the safety camera site’s first week in operation 28 offences were recorded.

The work by the GoSafe partnership has also been complemented by the Powys Roads Policing Unit.  Specialist traffic officers have attended the village and carried out additional speed enforcement leading to a number of prosecutions.

Inspector Gwyndaf Bowen “Police officers are able to take a range of action depending on the seriousness of transgressions, this ranges from offering drivers attendance at a speed awareness course as an alternative to prosecution, a fixed penalty notice, or a summons direct to court.  Both specialist traffic officers and the GoSafe partnership will continue to police priority residential areas in order to promote safer driving.”

Cllr William Powell commented: “Local residents have consistently raised the speed of traffic through the village with me and with Talgarth Town Council. We appreciated the fact finding visit by Police and Crime Commissioner, Dafydd Llywelyn in March, and, more recently, Insp Gwyndaf Bowen and his colleagues have been pro-active with their patrols, in the effective enforcement of speed limits. It has been welcomed by the community in Trefecca, who hope that there will be a sustained improvement in driver behaviour.’’

Police and Crime Commissioner – Dafydd Llywelyn:  “I am happy to hear that the partnership working between the force and other agencies has resulted in additional speed enforcement which will aid the safety of residents in Powys.”