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West Yorkshire speed cameras cash cut
Road safety bosses today insisted they have no plans to axe any of West Yorkshire's speed cameras, despite suffering a £840,000 funding cut.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership said that "as of now" the 333 fixed speed cameras in the region will "remain in place."
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However, she was unable to say how the organisation was going to cope with the deep cut to its budget this year and has not ruled out the axing of fixed cameras later in the year.
The government has cut 38million of the 95million that had been due to go to local authorities this financial year for road safety.
Leeds City Council's road safety budget has been slashed by 841,000.
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The reduction will hit the amount of money it can pass on to the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, which run the cameras.
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A smaller cut of 600,000 to the Thames Valley Road Safety Partnership is likely to result in the disappearance of every camera in Oxfordshire.
The government's coalition document made clear that road safety partnerships would not receive any cash for new fixed speed cameras.
It remains unclear what the impact will be on existing fixed camera sites.
The West Yorkshire Partnership spokeswoman said: "This year's road safety grant of 3m from the government has been cut by 27 per cent which means that there will be less opportunities for road safety enforcement initiative, training, education and other activities.
"The capital funding has been removed entirely which means that no new fixed speed cameras will be installed in West Yorkshire, however, the Government have not indicated their intentions related to those speed cameras already in place.
"As of now the fixed speed cameras that are in place across West Yorkshire will remain in place."
Road safety campaigners have spoken out against the funding cuts.
Ellen Booth, of road safety group Brake, said: "It would be a disaster if these cuts were passed on in full by county councils to road safety partnership. It would be especially hard to justify the idea that all speed cameras should be turned off.
"We really would be risking people's lives."
But road safety minister Mike Penning said: "In the coalition agreement the government made clear it would end central funding for fixed speed
cameras.
"Local authorities have relied too heavily on safety cameras for far too long."
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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