Traffic Safety concerns in Ellastone
Date received: 5 May 2026
Signatures received: 80
Name of petitioner: Mrs Lesley Needham
Status: Petition closed. Petition response:
Dear Mrs Lesley Needham,
I refer to the petition, signed by local residents regarding the request to consider safety measures through Ellastone village. I can advise you that receipt of the petition will be reported to Cllr Garry Hales as the local member and Cllr Murray as Leader of the Council.
Staffordshire County Council are aware of the local concerns being raised by residents in Ellastone and have been working with both the Parish Council and a residents group to look at the issues and options to support the concerns being raised.
Speed limits should be evidence led and seek to reinforce people's assessment of what is a safe speed to travel at which encourages self-compliance. The urban area of Ellastone currently has a 30mph speed limit, which are monitored regularly through the use of mobile enforcement camera vans. On the Wootton road this is further enforced through the use of a 40mph buffer zone as you approach the village. The village also benefits from Speed indication Devices (Sids) supplied through your Parish Council. These Sids indicate that approximately 94% of vehicles travel through the village at speeds below 36 mph.
Reducing the speed limit or other changes the at this location are unlikely to change driver behaviour by itself and is likely to lead to non-compliance of the new speed limit to which neither the County Council nor the Police are likely to support or manage in terms of enforcement.
The County Council, along with our Safer Roads Partnership team (SSRP) have now met with the Parish, residents and representatives from Merlin and JCB to consider what can be done to support the community. We are aware there is a desire to see average speed cameras installed, which unfortunately have been dismissed as there is no justification to install such devices in Ellastone. We have undertaken a speed and volume count and despite average speeds being slightly above that of the current limits there is no justification above that already in place to introduce other measures.
The approaches to the village have village gateways with markings on the carriageway, along with other visible signs to alert drivers to the speed limit. The village also currently benefits from the regular visits of the safety camera van.
Whilst I appreciate the concerns of local residents, the use of average speed cameras or fixed cameras are no longer seen as effective tools to manage speed limits. The use of mobile camera enforcement, such as the ones Ellastone already have are seen more effective at managing vehicle speeds.
The setting of unrealistic expectations when there is no evidence to justify this would set a precedent across the County that cannot be maintained and we need to offer a consistent message across the County. This is likely to increase demand for such measures in other locations that cannot be met or indeed justified.
Whilst there is evidence of increased speed on Wootton Road and approaches into the village, these are proportionate with other locations in the county. The accident history here is low, and therefore the mobile enforcement vehicle is utilised in Ellastone as a community concern site, rather than being a location where the evidence suggests accidents are occurring due to speed. Should a review for other measures be considered then the use of a mobile enforcement vehicle will also be considered. The likelihood may be that should the evidence suggest otherwise, you may lose this level of enforcement in the village. You may wish to consider this.
I am aware that Ellastone Parish Council have responded to you on the 9th June 2026 and have outlined their priorities as a Parish Council. We will however continue to work with the Parish and residents and to monitor speed data in Ellastone, along with monitoring the number of penalty notices for speeding being issued by our camera team.
You may wish to visit the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) website who actively work with communities who feel they may have a speeding problem in their locality, please refer to the SSRP website www.staffssaferroads.co.uk which offers advice and guidance on enforcement and the opportunity to address your concerns directly.
Yours sincerely
Richard Rayson
Community Highway Manager
