Just prior to hearing from Councillor Heron, I sent a second Freedom of Information Request to the Council in relation to the progress or otherwise of the feasibility study. I received a reply yesterday:

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION – Feasibility Study into Speed Cameras On Roger Penny Way

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 received by the Council on 15 June. 

Your request stated “if you could update me on the progress of this study and what, in particular, has happened since I received my last reply. Please could you tell me what stage has been reached and what the next step will be and why it 
is taking so long?”

I confirm that the information is held by the Council and is being disclosed. 
As outlined in my previous response to you there are many different parties involved in the consideration of the proposal to commission a Feasibility Study into speed cameras on Roger Penny Way. Although not a specific District Council responsibility, as Chief Executive at the Council I have been chairing a steering group of the key organisations involved in moving this work forwards. In my 
last letter I stated that Hampshire County Council outlined at the steering group meeting in January 2023 that it could take a further 3-6 months to finalise this stage and gain approvals to move to commission the Feasibility Study. As chair of the steering group I subsequently followed up with Hampshire County Council to ascertain where this work had reached with a further meeting of the 
group pending. Following this the Steering Group then had an update provided from Patrick Blogg, Director of Universal Services, Hampshire County Council on 18 May 2023 that set out the background and progress made. 

In this note partners were briefed that the Joint Operations Unit for Roads Policing have considered the proposal and have undertaken a Road Safety Assessment. They have concluded that a fixed speed camera scheme is not a proportionate solution at this time.This position has subsequently been confirmed with partners receiving a media statement circulated by Patrick Blogg on 7 July 2023 from Hampshire County Council (as outlined below).

” Update on Roger Penny Way – average speed cameras feasibility study 
A project to consider the viability of average speed cameras on the B3078 Roger Penny Way has concluded that the road and its usage patterns do not meet the necessary criteria for theinstallation of average speed cameras. Hampshire County Council’s Executive Lead Member for Universal Services including highways, Councillor Nick Adams-King, said: “At the request of local residents and groups, an investigation into the practicalities of locating average speed cameras on Roger Penny Way in the New Forest has been undertaken. This included an analysis of collisions on this route in recent years. 

Following this, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has now confirmed that this stretch of road does not meet the specific national criteria for the installation of permanent speed cameras. “The criteria, set out by the Department for Transport, emphasise that incidents that result in 
human injury remain the key benchmark for interventions of this type. I recognise this conclusion will be disappointing for New Forest residents who have felt that average speed camaras are needed to address the incidents that have caused the very distressing death of animals on 
Roger Penny Way. 

All partners involved in this project - including Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, Hampshire County Council, New Forest District Council, New Forest National Park Authority, and the Verderers - share a desire to eliminate all traffic incidents on this road - but it is important that the right solution is developed, and in the right way. Continuing to remind drivers 
of their responsibilities when driving in the New Forest is one critical element.

We also welcome the constructive suggestion from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary that a Community Speedwatch initiative may be part of the solution, enabling local residents to record the details of speeding vehicles using police-approved detection devices. 

I am also pleased that Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has agreed to consider additional mobile enforcement along this road. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary launched Operation Mountie in 2022 – a multi-agency 
initiative created in response to animal related injuries and / or deaths, and core issues around vehicles speeding along Roger Penny Way and surrounding areas. Along with partners such as New Forest Roads Awareness group, Forestry England, New Forest National Park Authority and others, Operation Mountie has helped to reduce the number of animal casualties on New Forest Roads via frequent joint operations, carrying out enforcement where necessary and educating road users about the dangers of speeding and their impact on roaming animals and general road 
safety

. 
After the leadership commitment to press forward with this work looking at average speed cameras, including the facilitation of the steering group, this conclusion was disappointing for the District Council as I know it will be for you. We know the strength of feeling our residents have around animal accidents on this stretch of road and we remain committed to working on road safety with our partners. We will continue our role in Operation Mountie and other interventions which seek to tackle speeding in the district and reduce these terrible accidents.

For now then, I will continue to update you on collision figures and can only help that Operation Mountie makes a little difference. I commend everyone who is involved in that initiative which has been very consistent since it was launched. I would just say that there seems to be a reluctance to actually prosecute anyone unless they are doing 50 mph or above but I do know that the warnings/education that is given is delivered by someone they wouldn't want to argue with. In addition, each operation is carried out by five or more people wearing bright yellow safety jackets - one wonders if drivers ought to have a sight test if they miss those. Animals killed last year went down by three and the number injured went up by 4 so I would dispute the fact that there has been a reduction in casualties and I would also dispute that a high percentage of these would have been 'accidents'.