COUNCILLORS have defended new ‘parish gates’ after some voiced scepticism whether they will work to stop speeding.

The gates are the latest deterrence being tried to solve the long running battle against speeding in Plantation Drive, Warndon Villages.

One of the main causes of the speeding is understood to be that the 30 mph road comes directly after a bypass, when drivers had got used to a higher speed.

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Earlier this week the new gates - often seen in approach to the villages - were installed and some on social media welcomed them. But others questioned their effectiveness, with comments such as they would not stop a “boy racer in his Corsa”.

Stephen Hodgson, Warndon Parish North city councillor who reviews speeding issues in his role as a parish councillor said: “These parish gates were ordered a while ago but the parish council hasn’t been able to install them until the footpath works were completed.

“Plantation Drive is prone to speeding, hence I have placed our old VAS sign (a type of speed camera) there. Analysis from the data from these signs show approximately 10 per cent of drivers break the speed limit. Hopefully these gates will have an impact and slow traffic down. It is a wide road, so the gates give the impression of it being narrower, and that causes people to slow down. It is psychological, that’s the purpose.”

The funding for the gates has come jointly from Warndon Parish Council and from the county divisional funding supplied by Warndon Parish’s county councillor Andy Roberts.

Mr Roberts said: “It was inevitable not everybody would be pleased with it, but I just hope it has a bit of an effect. It has only got to lower the average speed by two or three miles per hour to have a significant difference.”

The councillor said what worried him were the cyclists and walkers that regularly cross Plantation Drive.

“If the traffic goes as fast as it does down that road, it presents a problem,” Cllr Roberts said.

“The gates give a warning, and the idea then will be to present other things (in the future) such as a sign to warn people are crossing, and something on the road to remind people to keep their speed down. If people think the gates are an awful idea, I’m sure we won’t see it in other locations.”