Stop drivers with plants or cameras

Spalding Town Forum heard that some members had confronted drivers through Hall Place which is meant to be banned from 10am to 4pm.

Enforcement is meant to be carried out by Lincolnshire Police, but though the meeting was told there had been some instances of warnings being given to drivers, action was only being taken on certain days when officers were directed.

Instead Coun Angela Newton raised the prospect of automatic number plate recognition, though Coun Roger Gambba-Jones said that was something they’d asked about previously. He mentioned to the forum that a member of the public had sent in pictures of large planters that were moved into the road in Louth to stop vehicles.

“The sign doesn’t work and that’s putting it politely,” Coun Gambba-Jones said. “The planters are in use in Louth and they’re very nice items.

They’re quite large and if you wanted to get past them you’d have to get out and give them a really good push and I suspect it’s a two person job.

“The suggestion was why can’t we use something as simple as that? Last time we had something the postman drove into it.

“The problem is, who is going to bring them out and where are they going to go when they’re not being used?

“It’s still a nice idea and much more effective than the sign.

“I’ve never understood why we can’t get the civil parking done for us.

“Police have done it and have stopped, in some cases warned and in other cases ticketed them.

“Sometimes doing other things and ignoring people driving through as they don’t have time to do it.

“I’m not criticising. I’m just making an observation about the realities of it. The impression is that’s it’s up to them, but the powers could be given to civil parking enforcers by the county council if they bothered to do it properly.”

On the idea of number plate recognition he continued: “Our CCTV is massively under-used by us that pay for it. It’s a massive disappointment to me and a massive frustration.”

Councillors have said they’ve been verbally abused and driven at as number plate recognition and large planters were suggested of ways of stopping driving in pedestrianised areas of Spalding town centre.