A camera installed to prevent cars using a 'bus plug' in Gedling will remain - and neighbours say it's made that much of a difference that the stretch is 'back to being a nice country road'. A camera was placed at the bus plug in Stoke Lane, off Burton Road in Gedling, in March 2020.
Bus plugs effectively create a "no through road" for all traffic other than buses, and the measures were introduced to stop the road from being used as a "rat run". Neighbours had been livid over "ridiculous" speeding.
The CCTV camera was first installed as a temporary measure during the construction of the £49m Gedling Access Road, now known as Colliery Way, which opened in recent weeks. The camera has made a big difference - and local councillors campaigned for it to be made permanent, lobbying Nottinghamshire County Council.
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And it's been confirmed that the camera will stay - to the delight of local residents. Jon Audcent, 52, who works as a recruitment manager and lives on the street, said that speeding was "ridiculous" before the camera was introduced.
"It was ridiculous before these cameras were here. It has helped massively, it's been 10 out of 10. Since the cameras people have stopped a bit, there was a lot of traffic before.
"We used to have a lot of cars coming through from Burton Joyce just because they could. I could not understand why people kept doing it but the cameras have helped. Everybody was shooting through before. It's so important - if one person wanted to keep it and another wanted to remove it, I would vote for the one who wanted to keep it."
Jean Sutton, 74, who is retired and has lived on Stoke Lane since 1984, said the stretch was "back to being a nice country road". "People did just shoot down here, it did not make any sense why they were doing it," she said.
"I'm pleased that the camera is staying. It's really helped with the traffic and making the street a lot better to live on. No one was following the speed limit at all before."
The stretch in question is near Carlton Town FC's ground. Natalie Mellors, 41, who works as a health and safety manager, said: "It's a lot quieter down here now, people used to shoot down and cut through on this road. It made a difference as soon as it was put in.
"Everyone on the street is pleased it is going to stay here. It was especially bad on a Wednesday when the football was on but it's better now. It's made it more safe and there's less speeding, so I'm delighted it is going to stay."
A statement from Conservative Councillors Mike Adams and Sam Smith, who represent the Trent Valley ward on Gedling Borough Council, said: "Stoke Lane residents told us that the enforcement of the Stoke Lane bus-plug, off Burton Road, to prevent rat-running, was a priority and we are delighted to have delivered on that. We have repeatedly requested camera enforcement of the Stoke Lane bus-plug and we were pleased that this initially began on March 23, 2020.
"This was a temporary measure to prevent rat-running along Stoke Lane between Burton Road and the Colwick Loop Road during the construction period of the Gedling Access Road. Since June 1, 2020, Penalty Charge Notices (fines) have been issued by post to vehicles recorded travelling through the restriction. This has resulted in less traffic travelling along Stoke Lane and through the bus-plug.
"Throughout that period and now that Colliery Way (GAR) is open, we have been working with Tom Randall MP in jointly lobbying Nottinghamshire County Council to keep the enforcement camera in place at the bus-plug. We are pleased to have received confirmation that our campaign has succeeded and the Stoke Lane bus-plug camera will remain in place. We hope that this continued enforcement will further prevent rat-running along Stoke Lane."
Colliery Way links the A612 Trent Valley Road and Nottingham Road to Mapperley Plains. The bypass has been on the cards for decades and is designed to alleviate traffic in Gedling Village.
