There has been some progress on the campaign to deal with the real nuisance and danger of excessive noise and speed of motorcycling on the A272. The Parish Council is represented on a group of Parish Councils and community led groups that involves Sussex MP’s, district and county councillors campaigning for greater police enforcement and the necessary change in the law.
The subject dominated the latest Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC- Katy Bourne) in the ‘Performance & Accountability Meeting’ held with the new Chief Constable of Sussex Police, Jo Skinner. (These meetings are held monthly and are viewable online*). The CC has acknowledged the significance of this issue and committed additional resources to tackling the problem. Operation Downsway has been initiated which specifically targets speeding and antisocial motorcyclists on the A272 and was doing so in Midhurst on Sunday 9th March. She has also committed to researching new technology for detecting illegal motorcycle noise and engaging with local communities as part of Operation Downsway.
We have written to both the PCC and CC to ensure they are aware the problem is equally as acute in our Parish at the western end of the of their area of responsibility for policing the A272 and expressing our keenness to participate in an Operation Downsway engagement session in our locality.
We have applied for the necessary permits and licences to operate a ‘speed indicator sign’ the Parish Council has agreed to purchase. The sign will be mounted on posts in one of seven different locations for two weeks at time (2 on the A272 in Rogate, 2 on the B2070 in Rake, 1 on the B2070 in Hillbrow and 1 on the Rogate Road near Durford Wood entrance). Although not a solution to the problem of speeding vehicles, experience has shown they do have a positive impact on driver behaviour.
*Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner for Sussex, July 2020 ‘Performance & Accountability Meeting’ with Chief Constable of Sussex Police was on Friday 31 July. These are open to the public and viewable online – it can be viewed here Sussex Police
Katy Bourne OBE, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner
Sackville House, Brooks Close, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2FZ
spcc@sussex-pcc.gov.uk
Jo Shiner, Chief Constable, Sussex Police
Church Lane, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2DZ
Jo.Shiner@sussex.pnn.police.uk
