North Perrott’s much anticipated SID was finally installed on Sunday 27th Feb 2022. Delays had been caused by a general lack of silicon “chips” that are the programable component of all computers.

The SID is owned and serviced by North Perrott Parish Council and will be used in conjunction and in support of the already well established Community Speed Watch group (CSW). The SID will enable 24/7 collection of data including speed, date, time and location. Unlike the CSW group or traffic cameras, it does not collect any personal information, such as number plates or photographs. It is a valuable extension of our “HGV’s 20 is plenty” campaign, which was started in November 2020 and it is hoped that as well as reducing average speeds of vehicles through the village, it will also help target persistent offenders, enabling the CSW to identify times of peak offences.

SPONSORSHIP

We are deeply indebted to A H Warren Trust (Coombe Farm) and Hilton Herbs, who are the main sponsors of our village SID. Both companies have been active in the village for many years and both also hold the safety of horse riders close to their hearts. NPPC is grateful for their generous donations.

In total, £1,300 was raised through donations towards the total cost of hardware and training, which was in total, a little over £3,000. The balance was met by North Perrott Parish Council, which is funded by our community via an annual precept. Valued donations were also received from Perrott Hill School, North Perrott Farm Shop, Holy Cow Organic and The Old Rectory B&B.

It is hoped that these generous donations will be a valuable contribution to keeping our village safer for the future and improving the quality of life for our community, especially pedestrians, horse riders, people with houses directly adjacent to the road and all road users.

Anyone wishing to support the speed safety campaign in North Perrott can do so by donating their time to the CSW group or money toward the future upkeep of the SID. (EDIT: Many thanks to Mr M. Findlay for his generous donation towards the future upkeep)

LOCATIONS

There are rules on the use of SIDs by Parish Councils and Somerset Highways Authority have clear guidelines based on data collected nationwide. It has been proven that the effectiveness of static SIDs for slowing traffic is diluted over time and so Highways have two major stipulations. Firstly, a mobile SID can only remain in one position for a maximum of two weeks and secondly, that it cannot return within 6 weeks. This means that a minimum of 4 positions are required to fulfill this criteria. This will mean that the SID will be placed at both ends of the village and to protect the Village Green and the junction of Willis Lane, each in turn. This covers the 4 most hazardous areas in the village. The Village Green and Willis Lane can be detected from two different directions, so theoretically, there are 6 useful positions in the village.