Decision details

In 2014 the council entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Avon & Somerset Police whereby the council would own and maintain safety (speed) cameras and the police would provide the council with funds from cost recovery of drivers attending speed awareness courses. That funding would pay for the upkeep of the cameras and any surplus funds would be available for road safety initiatives.

The council currently owns six speed cameras in B&NES. Safety cameras can only be provided at locations that are agreed with the police. Avon & Somerset Police follow national guidance on the siting of safety cameras. This means the cameras can only been used at locations where there has been a history of collisions resulting in injuries where speed was a factor in the cause of the collision.

The cost recovery funds the council receives no longer covers the cost of operating the cameras. This means the council would need to find a new source of funding to keep the cameras operating. The police have offered to take over the ownership and ongoing maintenance of the cameras. This would not result in any change to the level of speed limit enforcement in B&NES. Safety cameras operate in this way in many other parts of the country including in other parts of the Avon & Somerset Police area, such as Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council.

Ownership and maintenance responsibility for all the safety cameras in B&NES shall be transferred to the police. As part of the transfer the council will obtain assurances from the police that there will be no resulting reduction in speed limit enforcement in the district. This will not have any impact on the council’s ability to work with the police on speed enforcement issues. The current council ownership of safety cameras does not give it any greater influence as to where safety cameras can be used compared to if the police owned them.

1. Retain ownership of the safety cameras – the council would need to allocate new funding in order to cover the ongoing cost of maintaining and calibrating the cameras. No such funding has been identified and it could require funding to be diverted from other road safety activities. This option is therefore rejected.

2. Turn off the safety cameras – although the council would not have to pay ongoing costs to keep the cameras operational, it would need to maintain their structural integrity or it would have to remove them. It would lead to a reduction in speed limit enforcement in B&NES. This option is therefore rejected.

3. Transfer ownership of the cameras to the police – the cameras would remain operational and the ownership and maintenance of the cameras would become the responsibility of the police. The council would enter into a licence agreement with the police to enable this to happen. This is the recommended option.