Rotherham backs call to keep half of local speeding-fine cash
Rotherham councillors have backed calls for half the money raised through local speeding fines to be spent on making the borough’s roads safer.
The Liberal Democrat motion called for councils to receive 50 per cent of speeding-fine revenue generated in their areas, with the money ring-fenced for road-safety improvements.
It was proposed by Councillor Drew Tarmey and seconded by Councillor Charlotte Carter at a full council meeting on Wednesday, September 9.
Coun Tarmey said the proposal would put “communities in a position where they’ve got more of a say ”.
“Revenue from speeding fines and similar offenses get paid to the Treasury, and it’s not ring fenced for road safety improvements,” he added.
“We want to recognize that individual communities are sometimes better able to assess that risk than some of the existing mechanisms that we have.”
A Conservative attempt to replace the proposal with a call for guaranteed, needs-based road-safety funding was defeated.
The amendment, proposed by Councillor Tim Baum-Dixon and seconded by Councillor Zach Collingham, argued that neither local nor central government should become financially dependent on drivers breaking the law.
Coun Baum-Dixon said: “If road safety funding depends upon fines, successful enforcement means less money to make our road safer.”
The original Liberal Democrat motion was subsequently carried.
The council will now write to the Government, transport secretary and chancellor requesting a share of speeding-fine revenue.
It will also ask regional and local-government bodies to support the campaign and investigate buying movable pairs of average-speed cameras for use on different streets across Rotherham.