Green Councillors representing communities in South Oxfordshire have accused Thames Valley Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner of a dereliction of duty after repeated calls for speed limit enforcement on the A4074 and the A4130 have been met with delays and excuses, despite clear evidence of sustained law-breaking.
In an open letter to Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber and outgoing Chief Constable John Campbell, Cllrs Robin Bennett, Sam Casey-Rerhaye, Andrea Powell and Jo Robb express their frustration and disappointment at Thames Valley Police’s failure to address serious speeding and call for urgent action.
Local residents and parish councils report that the two stretches of road have become a “race track” for bikers, who come from all over the country to speed dangerously from Berinsfield to Henley, putting lives at risk and disrupting communities with illegal noise levels.
Last December, local parish councils along the A4074 and A4130 held a meeting with the Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber and MP for Henley John Howell to demand action on speed. More than nine months on residents say nothing has been done and motorbikes and motorists continue to speed along both roads with impunity.
“Parish Councils are deeply frustrated at the lack of action from Thames Valley Police, despite assurances from the Police and Crime Commissioner last year,” said Cllr Andrea Powell, district councillor for Benson and Crowmarsh. “It is appalling that TVP is failing to deal with the significant highway safety issue of speed on our local roads. These speeds are so high and the data so alarming that it simply cannot be ignored. It’s time Thames Valley Police listened to local residents and parish councils and started enforcing the speed limit on this stretch of road before we see yet more serious incidents.”
Speed survey data commissioned by Crowmarsh Parish Council over the summer shows that only 8.6% of vehicles travelling towards the Crowmarsh roundabout from the Henley direction on the A4130 were within the 30mph speed limit.
While the majority of vehicles were travelling at a slower speed up Crowmarsh Hill, the number reaching very high speeds was greater. Over the seven days of the survey period, 442 vehicles were recorded travelling over 60mph, 100 at over 70mph and 33 at over 80mph.
Data gathered in March by Oxfordshire County Council at the request of Bix and Assendon Parish Council, and sent to the Police and Crime Commissioner, showed significant numbers of motorbikes speeding on Sundays. On Sunday 6 March, 37 motorbikes exceeded 70mph, three at over 100mph. Warborough and Shillingford Parish Council have recorded similar results on the A4074 at Shillingford, particularly on Monday evenings during the summer months.
Cllr Sam Casey-Rerhaye, district councillor for Sandford and the Wittenhams, and SODC’s representative on the Police and Crime Panel, said, “At the last Panel meeting, the Police and Crime Commissioner agreed with me that some of the speeding is extreme and dangerous but told me that policing these roads is difficult and that enforcement may only push the problem elsewhere, but I would like to see evidence to back up these assertions. Our local communities have been suffering for long enough.”
Cllr Jo Robb, district councillor for the Woodcote and Rotherfield ward, which includes the parishes of Nuffield and Bix and Assendon, said, “Communities have provided evidence of persistent dangerous levels of speed. Tragically, we have seen a number of fatalities and serious injuries on these two roads and yet Thames Valley Police has failed to act. It’s hard to understand. Our residents and parishes are simply asking for the law to be enforced, in the interests of public safety.”
Watch: Councillor Sam Casey-Rerhaye speaks at the Thames Valley Police & Crime Panel, 23 September 2022
