A call for Staffordshire County Council to prioritise camera enforcement on Stone High Street has been described as “premature” by the authority’s highways chief.
Stone Urban councillor Jill Hood brought a motion to the full County Council meeting on Thursday 8 October, calling for action to tackle drivers continuing to use the pedestrianised High Street during restricted hours.
She asked the council to progress the powers needed to enforce moving traffic restrictions, make Stone High Street a priority location and work with Stone Town Council over the £30,000 it has allocated towards a camera enforcement scheme.
But Councillor Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for strategic highways, said the authority first needs to consider how the powers could be used across the county.
He did, however, reveal that officers have been asked to investigate the issue, with an initial application to the Department for Transport potentially being made in the first part of 2027.
Stone could then be considered alongside other locations for a trial scheme.
Concerns over drivers using the High Street
Stone High Street is intended to be closed to vehicles between 10am and 4.30pm, with access permitted outside the restricted period for traders loading and unloading goods.
Drivers ignoring the restriction have prompted safety concerns for several years.
Previous enforcement has involved Staffordshire County Council, Stafford Borough Council, Stone Town Council and Staffordshire Police, while bollards installed in an attempt to prevent vehicles entering during the day have also been damaged.
Stone Town Council has set aside £30,000 to help fund an automatic number plate recognition, or ANPR, scheme.
Presenting her motion, Councillor Hood said:
“Stone High Street is intended to provide a safe and welcoming pedestrian environment. However, vehicles continue to enter and travel along the High Street during the restricted hours, despite clear road signs, prominent ‘No Entry’ markings and previous enforcement campaigns.
“The unauthorised movement and parking of vehicles within this busy pedestrian area presents a persistent and entirely avoidable risk of serious injury.”
She said vehicles were using the High Street as a shortcut around Christchurch Way, to collect takeaways and to park near businesses.
Councillor Hood added:
“Previous police operations and other short-term enforcement initiatives have raised awareness but have not delivered a lasting change in driver behaviour.
“Occasional enforcement cannot provide the consistent deterrent required. ANPR enforcement would provide a practical, proportionate and sustainable solution.”
She said camera enforcement would enforce an existing restriction rather than create a new one, and could allow Penalty Charge Notices to be issued using photographic evidence.
Councillor Hood said:
“This proposal is not anti-car, it is about ensuring that drivers comply with restrictions that already exist and protecting people who are entitled to use the High Street safely.
“A restriction that is not consistently enforced will continue to be ignored.”
Countywide approach needed
Councillor Mason told the meeting that he believed the motion had come too soon.
He said:
“I do believe the motion is premature.
“While it does address the issues of Stone, the powers are taken on a county-wide basis. While it might seem simple to put a camera on either end of Stone High Street, other areas that may fall within this become far more difficult and expensive to do.
“We need to look at how far and how wide we take these powers and apply them across the county.”
Councillor Mason said officers had been asked to investigate the issue before a decision was made on whether Staffordshire should seek the powers.
He said:
“We should look at the facts and then make a decision, which is why I have asked the officers to look into this and bring a report back to myself, and if we choose to proceed, then through cabinet for their approval for taking forward.”
He added that, if the council decided to proceed, an initial submission to the Department for Transport could be made during the first part of 2027.
Councillor Mason said:
“The first scheme [would] probably be a trial scheme. Stone could be considered, along with others, as that trial area.”
He asked councillors to vote against Councillor Hood’s motion, saying he did not want the council to predetermine the outcome of the officers’ work.
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1 comment
Cllr Robin Hall
I live in Stone but represent Burntwood South as a County Councillor. We must consider priorities across the county. This motion provided no business or police evidence, traffic counts, near-miss data or reliable costs and no justification for prioritising Stone over other areas. That is why I challenged it and voted against it at Full Council, where it was defeated. In my view, it was an unprofessional, headline grabbing proposal, pure and simple. Residents deserve evidence, not political theatre.