CAMPAIGNERS fighting speeding and dangerous traffic through Cowling have been given a glimmer of hope after the area’s police and crime commissioner said she had asked for a fresh look at fixed cameras.

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s police, fire, and crime commissioner, said she had a lot of sympathy with places like Cowling that were blighted by high levels of speeding traffic.

And she said she had pressed road safety partnership 95 Alive to re-visit the policy on the use of fixed speed cameras in North Yorkshire.

“I have a lot of sympathy for Cowling and their traffic problems. The problem is there is a high volume of traffic going through the village and when the authorities look at the data the average suggests there is not a problem,” she said.

“There are not easy solutions. Fixed cameras are not the solution currently, because the infrastructure does not exist in North Yorkshire. “

She added: “I have however asked 95 Alive which is made up of all the strategic partners to look again at the possibility of fixed cameras to solve specific concerns in North Yorkshire.”

Mrs Mulligan did however stress infrastructure would be very expensive and local authorities would be short of money, post coronavirus pandemic.

95 Alive, the York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership is a multi agency group made up of North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, Highways Agency and district councils, and it will have to make any policy change.

Villagers in Cowling have set up the 4#30 action group in an attempt to address issues with traffic which members say have been ongoing for 20 years.

They say speeding traffic on the A6068 through Cowling, between Cross Hills and Colne, has always been a problem, but it got worse during the coronavirus lockdown.

They say there have been many serious accidents and near misses, despite the 30 mph speed limit, with motorists driving recklessly and too fast for the road conditions, overtaking on double white lines at the entrance to the village, and without any thought for pedestrians and other road users.

Last year, in response to residents’ s concerns, police said they were deploying safety camera vans in the village and patrolling more often.

But the group, which posts videos of speeding motorists on its Facebook Page, says the measures are only effective when the police are there.

It has recently written to Mrs Mulligan, North Yorkshire County Council, Julian Smith MP, and the chief inspector, saying while it supports the parish council in its efforts, it wanted to comment separately as a group as the actions of some drivers were ‘negatively impacting our village quality of life’.

“As it stands now, the balance between residents and motorists is weighted to the motorist and our village life is negatively impacted by speeding, dangerous driving, inappropriate road limits and even racing at night,” says the letter.

There is speeding day and night and on the approaches to the village, with drivers ‘considerably exceeding the 30mph and 60mph limits. Motorists also overtake in prohibited zones, on the wrong side of bollards, and overtake more than one car at a time.”

The group goes on to say there is only one safe crossing point in the village, and that houses next to the road have suffered damage due to vibrations caused by traffic going too fast.

It is calling for speed limits to be enforced at all times and for the installation of static cameras with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR). It also wants the speed limit in the village to be reduced to 20mph, and the installation of speed reducing measures, such as ‘speed tables’ as well as more pedestrian crossings.