New speed indicating devices (SpIDs) were deployed this month in Scarisbrick for the first time.

Scarisbrick Parish Council has purchased two solar-powered units which can currently be seen at each end of Smithy Lane; they'll be rotated around the parish on mounting posts that have been installed in Smithy Lane, Turning Lane, Pool Hey Lane, Bescar Brow Lane and on Heatons Bridge Road - and there may be opportunity to extend the scheme in the future if funding permits.

Speeding is a perennial problem particularly in rural parishes and Scarisbrick is no exception. It is a significant cause of community concern and the most common complaint received by the parish council.

A small working group of parish councillors and local residents was therefore set up to discuss ways of addressing the issue, and the recent distribution of wheelie bin stickers was the first initiative with the deployment of SpIDs being a more hi-tech response.

The purchase and installation of SpIDs is a method of educating and raising the awareness of motorists which potentially falls within the budget and powers of parish councils. The initiative is not new.

Devices are increasingly the subject of purchase and deployment by parish councils around the country, with many such projects in Lancashire, and the working group was keen to explore this possibility for Scarisbrick.

The devices also have the ability to collect traffic data in the form of traffic volumes, vehicle speeds, and times of the day when problems are particularly prevalent. This provides useful information for Lancashire's Road Safety Partnership when they are deciding where and when to deploy their mobile enforcement cameras.

The project was funded predominantly through the parish precept but with important contributions from the Community Infrastructure Levy and from West Lancashire Borough Council via a successful capital grant application; Scarisbrick Parish Council also acknowledges the invaluable support and advice given by officers of the highways department at Lancashire County Council.

A commitment to tackle speeding and other forms of anti-social behaviour appears prominently in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s plan for the county. Scarisbrick Parish Council has taken the opportunity to invite the deputy PCC, Andrew Pratt MBE, to speak at the council’s meeting on Monday 3rd October at 7.30pm in Scarisbrick Village Hall - residents are encouraged to attend and raise issues of concern.