Council to install cameras in CCTV crackdown on these Chester and Ellesmere Port routes

Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) is set to install CCTV cameras at three locations in the city - as well as one in Ellesmere Port - to punish traffic offences on restricted routes.

The authority says the move, set to come in from May 20, will reduce dangerous manoeuvres, congestion and disruption. From May 2022, councils outside Greater London could apply to the Department for Transport (DfT) to be designated as a civil enforcement area for moving traffic offences, and an application by CWAC was subsequently approved last summer.

Enforcement of existing restrictions using approved automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will take place in Chester at the Nuns Road/New Crane Street junction, the Nuns Road/Grosvenor Road junction, the Canal Street/Northgate Street junction and on Civic Way in Ellesmere Port where only buses are allowed access.

Initially, the council will undertake a six-month awareness raising period and issue warning notices to drivers observed contravening the restriction by ANPR technology. However, Penalty Charged Notices (PCNs) will be issued to the vehicle owner for a repeat offence within the first six months and for a first - or subsequent - offence at the end of the six-month warning period.

Councillor Christine Warner, cabinet member for homes, planning and safer communities, said: "Regulations made under the Traffic Management Act 2004 have given the Council powers to make the borough’s roads safer and less congested for all road users and improve air quality. The purpose of these powers is to better enforce four existing restrictions that were selected following consultation and consideration of traffic counts and accident data. The Council is not introducing any new restrictions."

The four locations chosen for enforcement using CCTV cameras

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