Daventry council agrees grant for traffic safety measures in Staverton

The parish council remains concerned about the safety of the roads in and out of Staverton

Staverton Parish Council had been working on the traffic calming measures with the county council, but the county had to pull the plug after it banned new expenditure as a result of its section 114 notice.

But the district council, with the help of Warwickshire Council as the village straddles the border, has plugged the funding gap and agreed to grant the scheme £16,000 overall.

A motion calling for the funding was raised by Conservative councillors Jo Gilford, Richard Auger and Alan Hills at the council’s full council meeting on February 21.

Councillor Gilford said: “The parish council have raised concerns over several years over the speed of vehicles going over 30mph. A number of accidents have been recorded along this route, including a fatality.

“Warwickshire County Council is contributing in region of £3,000, they have confirmed they will go ahead with the project on their side, so unless we go ahead part of the village may have these measures and part may not.

“Let’s deliver a safe environment and enhanced accessibility for elderly and disabled people.”

The project aims to reduce speed limits, install signs and vehicle activated displays on the A425 and will work as an extension of the recently approved Warwickshire policy to reduce traffic speeds up to the Warwickshire/ Northamptonshire border on the road.

Warwickshire County Council is also funding the necessary signing works in Northamptonshire, and the councillors said if the motion was not supported then ‘the works will not go ahead and external funding from outside the district will be lost’.

But some councillors raised questions as to why Staverton should receive such funding when there were many other dangerous sections of road across the district.

Labour councillor Wendy Randall said: “There are plenty of areas in the district that are similar to this, so how do you decipher where is more important.

"I would say the traffic is slower there than a lot of the estates in the town. Other residents will ask whether this is fair or not.”

Councillors voted through the motion to agree to the grant, which will be awarded to the parish council.