Village to get camera following HGV petition

A village in Surrey is set to get a new camera aiming to enforce heavy goods vehicles (HGV) restrictions following a residents' petition to the council.

Community group Federation of Oxshott Residents and Associations (Fedora) launched the petition in June and received more than 800 signatures.

Surrey County Council will install one automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera at the Copsem Lane end of the A244, which is expected to run from early 2027.

Ian Dilks, Fedora's chairman, said this solution would only solve "half the problem" the petition raised, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The petition called for ANPR and speed control cameras in both directions of the A244 and for continuous pavements to be built, especially for the village's schoolchildren.

It welcomed measures from three years ago to put a night time HGV ban and 20mph speed limit in the village centre, but claimed the problem was a lack of enforcement.

A council spokesperson previously said road safety was of "paramount importance" and the petition would be considered carefully.

The residents' group previously told BBC Radio Surrey that noise from HGVs had been "a major inconvenience" and had caused babies to wake up in the night.

"All of this has a direct impact on the quality of daily life," Dilks added.

He welcomed the council's recognition of the problem but hoped to see more done.

Matt Furniss, the council's transport lead, said the installation of a single ANPR camera in Farnham had been a success for bringing down the number of vehicles exceeding weight restrictions.

"As soon as the camera was introduced, it dropped off dramatically within a matter of weeks once the tickets started to be issued," he said.

Furniss wanted to see the impact of the first camera before considering more.

"We do know it is an effective solution," he added.

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