Council plans to use ANPR in Hollows Close and Saxon Road

Following a consultation held in May and June, the council is applying for new powers to help improve road safety by using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to help enforce moving traffic offences.

Moving traffic offences are currently only enforceable by the police in Wiltshire, as is the case in most other local authorities outside London. They include offences such as going the wrong way down a one-way street; driving through a No Entry sign; ignoring a weight limit; or turning left or right where it is not permitted.

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The council has now applied to the Department for Transport (DfT) for these powers and expects to receive a decision in spring 2024.

Councillor Caroline Thomas, cabinet member for transport, said: “We had almost 600 responses to our moving traffic enforcement consultation, with most people supporting the move to apply for these powers and the initial six sites identified.

“We have committed to having safer roads in our Business Plan, and these moving traffic offences put all road users at risk, particularly pedestrians. To help keep people safe on our roads, we expect to have the ANPR technology in place during next summer.”

The six sites that were consulted on include two locations in Bradford on Avon, two in Trowbridge and two in Salisbury.

The Salisbury sites are Hollows Close, where the council plans to use the technology to enforce a prohibition against non-permit-holding vehicles Monday through Friday between the hours of 7.30am to 9.30am and 2pm to 6pm, and Saxon Road, where there is a similar Monday through Friday prohibition against vehicles without a permit.

Any future sites around the county that are identified as being suitable for enforcement will be subject to a full six-week public consultation process.

The cabinet member decision to proceed with the application to the DfT can be read here.