Local MP James Heappey, working with the local authorities and police, has nominated Cheddar Gorge for a Government noise camera trial.
The initiative aims to alleviate issues with car meets and associated anti-social behaviour and noise problems which have become commonplace at the Gorge.
Mr Heappey says he has being working to find a solution with local councillors, the police, and the community over several years.
He says the problem came to a head in 2020, when a car meet of 400 cars gathered by the Gorge and put people in danger with erratic driving, causing huge disruption and forcing Police to close the area.
As a result, many people in the village and surrounding area have been concerned about the impact on safety and the tourism industry.
Mr Heappey says: “This is a great opportunity for the village, and I am pleased with the collective effort to put together what we think is a very credible bid to be a part of the Government’s trial to install noise cameras.”
“These will help the police identify vehicles which are causing issues and be a big deterrent.”
“I think it is clear Cheddar qualifies for this trial, and I do hope the DFT look favourably on our application.”
“I will of course keep constituents up to date with any progress and continue to work with key stakeholders to find other solutions for the issues at the Gorge.”
The acoustic cameras can detect vehicles exceeding the legal noise limit and preliminarily tests have shown they can identify the individual vehicles responsible using automatic number plate recognition. They can then send real-time reports to police. It is hoped this evidence can lead to more targeted enforcement in the worst affected areas.
There are a limited number of sites which will be a part of the trial and the Department for Transport have issued the following criteria for applications which will be considered favourably: The problem described occurs on the public highway, not on a private road or land adjacent to a public highway;Â There is existing street furniture such as streetlights, traffic lights or road signs where the camera can be safely mounted;Â The local highway authority is already aware of the issue described.
Pictured: James Heappey, Jeff Savage and Graham Godwin Pearson in Cheddar
