Changes on the Buses

Look out for yet more changes to buses in Horsell from September.

Loss of the 28
Following the latest stage of Surrey's bus review the 28 bus will not run through Horsell from 5 September.  There will be another bus service the 48 that will cover some of this bus route and run to Knaphill along Littlewick Road.  This will be a weekday only, day time service with 5 buses per day from Horsell to Woking and 4 in the opposite direction.

The withdrawal of the 28 means no service to Goldsworth Park centre or Waitrose, fewer buses and no weekend service.  The reason for withdrawal is lack of users but given the number of changes to bus routes and times it is hardly surprising that it has few passengers.  Most people just don't know when the bus is running.

Revised service on the 73
At the end of October Countryliner will end their 73 service which runs hourly on Mondays to Saturdays from Chobham to Woking, going through South Road, Meadway Drive, Ormonde Road and then Well Lane in Horsell.  This is deemed to be a commercial service (that is Surrey does not subsidise it) and will be put out to tender.  Surrey see this as an opportunity to change the route if that is what is wanted locally.

Surrey County Council would like your views on where this bus should run.  They have suggested two possible route options plus the opportunity for the bus to run to Morrisons on some journeys.  Please take a look at the information below and send your views to Laurie James (

laurie.james@surreycc.gov.uk)

 at Surrey (if you could copy me it would be helpful so I know what suggestions are being made).

BUS ROUTE 73 CHOBHAM – HORSELL – WOKING

Option A) Continue with a similar timetable on the same route as now

Option B) Continue to provide an hourly service to/from Chobham but divert certain journeys between Horsell and Woking so that they run from Meadway Drive via Horsell Church and Brewery Road, rather than Ormonde Road and Well Lane.

Reason: From 5 September 2011, bus service 28 will be withdrawn from Horsell as already advertised. This service runs via Horsell Church and Brewery Road and is being replaced by a less-frequent service 48 on Mondays to Fridays only. The 48 will leave Horsell for Woking at 0828, 1017, 1217, 1417 and 1617. It will leave Woking for Horsell at 1030, 1230, 1430 and 1635.

By diverting part of service 73, journeys could run from Horsell to Woking via Brewery Road on Mondays to Saturdays at 1132, 1332 and 1712, returning from Woking at 1100, 1300, 1500 and 1730.

Advantage: Horsell High Street, Church and Brewery Road get more bus choice

Disadvantage: Ormonde Road and Well Lane get fewer buses.

Possible improvements with both options A and B: Extend service 73 during the middle part of the day to/from Morrisons Store in Woking and provide a better choice of buses back to Horsell and Chobham at commuting times from Woking Station at 1640, 1730, 1820 and 1910 (as well as 1935 to Horsell only)

Comments on the above are invited by Monday 19 September by email to laurie.james@surreycc.gov.uk 

The ones that didn't make it ...

It's a few weeks now since the local elections and time to reflect.  I blogged previously on the fate of the Lib Dems in those elections and mentioned new councillors who won seats on 5 May.  Now seems a good time to look at those who were not successful in their election bid in 2011.

Barnabas Shelbourne was up for election in Byfleet.  He was only elected back in 2010 but took his seat in a by-election, where the previous councillor had only one more year left to run.  Barnabas is a youth worker and brought his expertise in this area to the Council.  He had a fresh and enthusiastic approach and it is sad that he lost the seat.  Barnabas was also a great support to the other Lib Dem councillor in Byfleet, Anne Roberts.  Anne works tirelessly for her area and is well known there. Having Barnabas to work alongside Anne  meant the team could do so much more for Byfleet.  Campaigning to save Byfleet Libary was one example of the team in action.  Barnabas' contribtion included an excellent letter in the News and Mail in praise of this local facility.  As a father with a young son Barnabas also played a key part in raising concerns about the way in which extra spaces were to be provided at the local primary school.

Philip Goldenberg, a past councillor with a long political history, was standing in Goldsworth East. Philip is a formidable political operator and the Conservative party clearly feared his return to the council chamber.  A large part of a leaflet was devoted to personal attacks.  Against this sort of campaign and a slight upturn in the Labour vote Philip was not elected.

In Knaphill Lisa Harding put up an amazing fight.  Despite being a first time candidate Lisa did an incredible job, whether working hard on the ground talking to residents and delivering literature or gaining publicity in both the local papers and the online world.  Lisa was a fantastic candidate.  Her background, growing up in East London, and her work for a national charity, mean she has both an empathy with people at all levels and a wider social conscience.  Lisa fell victim to the double whammy of a surge in the Conservative vote and a well known local councillor.  There was no more Lisa and her team could have done.  It is a real pity that she is not a part of our council group.  We are however using her many skills as secretary to the Lib Dem group.  She is already scaring us with a new level of organisation not seen for some time in the group.

The Maybury and Sheerwater seat was a three cornered fight with the Conservatives just ahead of Labour and Lib Dem Ajmal Latif running close behind.  Ajmal is a keen and energetic young man who put a lot into his campaign.  He is welll known across the area and I hope he will be back to try his hand again in future.

Mark Hanley in Horsell West was late into the fray of candidature but he did all that was asked of him and put up a creditable fight in Horsell.  Again the vote was affected by both the wider increase in Conservative vote and a well known councillor.

Over in Horsell East the Sanderson dynasty continued with James Sanderson (son of former Horsell West councillor Richard) taking up the Lib Dem mantle.  James has past council experience having held a seat in Tower Hamlets when he lived in London.   Horsell East tends to be a seat where the votes could almost be weighed rather than counted for the Tories and this year was no different.

A similar situation exists in West Byfleet where Bill Woolf worked very hard over many months but the Conservative majority inevitablty prevailed and in Pyrford where a veteran candidate Andy Grimshaw flew the Lib Dem flag.  Past Lib Dem councillor Diana Landon ran again in St Johns and Hook Heath and made a creditable showing.

Conservative Domination

I am increasingly of the view that Conservatives would love to have single party rule.  They have a huge majority on Surrey County Council and use it to every advantage.  The voice of Surrey residents is ignored at every turn.

Three recent events are indicative of a total rejection of public views and use of a majority to ignore others:

- Surrey Conservatives rejected a petition of over 26,000 Surrey residents who objected to being charged to park near local shops.  Those at the annual meeting of the county council, where the petition was barely discussed. report that Tory county councillors spent much time in electing themselves to positions and committees and self congratulation but little time on the parking petition.

- Byfleet Library is planned for closure and replacement by a "Big Society" initiative.  Byfleet residents have objected and been ignored.  They have pointed out that the library was closed during some of the period in which usage was measured. Pleas for a "recount" have been ignored.

- Woking currently has equal numbers of Conservative and Lib Dem county councillors.  County councillors for each areas sit on a Local Committee.  Despite the current equal share of seats (subject to a by-election) the Tories refused to support Lib Dems for either chair or vice-chair of this committee.

Looking back on local elections

Local elections are over for another year (although if you live in the St Johns, Brookwood or Hermitage and Knaphill South areas of Woking you have a county by-election on the 19 May).

Results for the Liberal Democrats across the country were not great (understatement alert).  Losses to Labour in the North of England had been anticipated.  Few people predicted the rise in both Conservative and Labour vote in the South.

So what happened in Woking?

It was a bad night for Labour.  Milliband's men had hoped to get at least one seat on Woking Council after several years absence.  They failed.  In Maybury and Sheerwater they came close.  In other seats with a traditional Labour vote they finished in third place, behind both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives.

The Conservatives had a good night.  They held all but one of their seats and gained seats from the Lib Dems in Byfleet and Goldsworth Park. Pyrford went back to the Conservatives having been held by an Independent, orginally elected as a  Conservative, since 2008.  They moved to second place in Old Woking.  Woking Council now has a Conservative majority.  Conservative Leader Kingsbury said at the count that Woking Conservatives would now be able to do what they wanted to do.  No change there then.

UKIP appeared to have high hopes and targetted Old Woking in particular.  They made little impact, taking last place in Old Woking.  I was surprised to see that Labour got a higher vote share than UKIP all but one of Woking's wards for the first time in several years.  In that one ward UKIP and Labour tied for vote share.

And so to the Lib Dems.  Well we lost two seats but we gained one seat - Kingfield and Westfield - from the Conservatives.  Will Forster gained this seat against campaigns from the Tories, Labour, UKIP and a small independent party.  In Old Woking another new councillor Louise Morales held off a three party challenge to hold the seat for the Lib Dems.  Over in Goldsworth Park Amanda Coulson was elected in a by-election.  We held our own in Maybury and Sheerwater in another three way fight.  Overall Woking Lib Dems are down one seat.  A performance comparable with councils we run in the South East such as Portsmouth and Bournemouth.

Emerging from the dark - new life for Heather Farm

On Wednesday evening I visited the site of the old mushroom farm at Heather Farm on the Chobham Road. Horsell Common Preservation Society, owners of the land, have drawn up plans for a wetland area, dog walking and an alternative access to the countryside.

The site has a chequered history. There was a mushroom farm in operation until around 2006 when the main supermarkets moved their business to overseas suppliers. Much debate over the future of the site followed. Woking Council proposed an energy from waste plant for the site. This facility was planned to use pyrolysis and in-vessel composting to give, potentially, a more environmentally friendly way of disposing of non-recyclable waste than traditional incinerators.

The energy plant proposal was not popular with either residents in the immediate vicinity or the wider Woking population. Eventually the plans were dropped. But Woking’s plans led to interest from Surrey County Council who added the site to their Waste Plan. Heather Farm was designated a site for an energy from waste site. In parallel the owners of the land sought to achieve planning permission for light industrial use or storage on the site.

Fast forward to 2009 and McClaren sought further building on their site to house the building of a new road car. HCPS had a covenant over the site. Agreement was reached that Heather Farm be bought by McClaren for HCPS in order that the land be returned to nature. In return McClaren were able to go ahead with their new facility.

I was amazed at the area of the site. Last time I was there, a little after the mushroom farm closed, the site was covered in concrete. There was a concrete surface over much of the site and many concrete buildings. All of this is now cleared, bar the main administration building which will be kept.

HCPS hopes to set up a wetland area, taking advantage of the natural features of the site, a dog walking area and the site will fulfil the role of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), drawing visitors away from sites with protected species to less sensitive locations. The remaining building will be used for wildlife or nature charitable organisations, with some space for HCPS. It is also hoped to create a visitor centre where young people can learn about the natural environment.

HCPS have made much progress in the last year. It is fantastic to see this site slowly returning to nature. A planning application setting out the future of the site is anticipated in the summer.

Need for a new Horsell Scout "hut"

Today I took Lib Dem Leader on Woking Council Richard Sharp to meet representatives of Horsell Scouts. We met at the scout hut in the village to see just how desperately they are need of a new building.

Richard was particularly impressed at just how much the Scouts and Guides have raised over the years. The current total from fundraising and donations stands at around £100,000. The scouts don’t rest on their laurels. Whilst we were visiting work was in full swing in preparation for the very popular May Fayre held every bank holiday Monday on Wheatsheaf Common.

We toured around both inside and outside of the facility. From the outside you can see what a hotch potch of buildings make up the hut. Part of the building is a former school prefabricated classroom. This came to the scouts some years ago, having already spent a number of years at a school.

Richard was left in no doubt as to how much the scouts need some help from the council to make their new building a reality.

WWF HQ to be built on Brewery Road Car Park

Woking's planning committee has given permission for WWF to build a new headquarters on Brewery Road car park.

The headquarters will be built on stilts above the car park and will be two storeys high.  This will be much the tallest building on the Horsell side of the canal, more than 2 meteres higher than the Kingswood Court flats and 5 metres higher than the neighbouring houses.  It will be the first "commercial" development to cross the canal barrier from the town centre.

Car parking will be retained under the building but the number of parking spaces will be reduced to 165, a loss of 42 spaces.  The number of disabled spaces available to the public will be reduced by 2 spaces.

As a local councillor who lives in close proximity to the site I am judged to have a "prejudicial interest" and so was not allowed to address, or even attend theplanning meeting.  I was permitted to listen to the proceedings in a separate room.

Listening to my fellow councillors I was rather disappointed in the lack of discussion and debate in which the committee engaged.  The proposal represented a departure from the Local Plan, raised issues of accessibility across the site and gave nothing back to Horsell or Woking save for the intangible economic benefit and kudos of having an international charity based in the town.

However I was very impressed by my colleague Cllr Lyons, Mount Hermon West councillor, who raised a wide range of issues and asked a number of pertinent questions, several of which I had asked him to raise.

As it became obvious to me that there was little chance of preventing this development on the car park and Woking's Conservative Executive were set on giving the site away I focused on what both Horsell and the rest of Woking might get back from this development. 

On reviewing council executive papers from September 2008, when the WWF proposal was first made, and January 2009 when the results of public consultation were reported to the executive I saw how much emphasis had been put on the development bringing improvements to the canal, as required in the Local Plan.  This had been totally removed, without mention, by the term the final terms of the deal with WWF came to the executive in November 2010.  When I read that WWF would make no contribution to the canal I contacted the planning officer to confirm my understanding.  WWF were making no contribution to the canal side.  Woking has lost its greatest chance to improve the canal side and integrate the canal and the town centre.  This was a requirement of the Local Plan.  It has been a requirement on all of the number of applications for the site.  Now it had been brushed aside and was not mentioned by the planning committee save for Cllr Lyons valiant efforts.

The canal and the town are so separate.  It is a green space so close to the town centre that so much could be made of to make it a more pleasant environment for all. Canal users would love to bring their boats into the town. If there were facilities visiting boats would come to the town, creating some life and energy on the canal.

As I have reported before Woking Council is giving this site to WWF, charging no rent for 20 years and then a peppercorn rent of just £1,000 per year. Meanwhile Woking Council will pay for a replacement bridge across the canal to connect WWF to the town centre.  The Council has already been allowed to spend up to £25,000 to enable WWF to move to the site.

Horsell Under Attack & It's Costing Us Money

It has happened before and it is happening again. Horsell is under attack and it seems that local residents are paying for it.

The true cost of WWF on Brewery Road Car Park
We have known for several months that Conservative run Woking Council wanted to go ahead with plans to bring WWF to Brewery Road Car Park in Horsell.  What has now become clear is the cost of this great ambition.  I revealed back in November that the WWF HQ will require a new bridge to cross the canal and connect it to the town.  The current bridge across the canal badly needs to be replaced (if only the Council had maintained it properly would that be necesary?). However WBC is looking at spending up to a million pounds on this new bridge and not asking WWF for a penny towards a rather important requirement for their new building.

Last week's News and Mail brought news of even more cost to Woking tax payers.  The paper reports that WBC is giving the site away and giving WWF a long rent free period.  It would be very nice to have WWF in Woking (on a site in the town centre rather than Horsell) but can an environmental charity with a couple of hundred employees really bring enough economic benefit to our town to justify this huge give away.

Relocation of the Fire Station
The second attack on Horsell relates to plans to move the fire station, currently located in the town centre,  to land on Kestrel Way, behind the allotments on Bullbeggars Lane and the Salvation Army.  This proposal is at a very early stage.  I am totally opposed to this move.  It is the wrong location for the fire station.  It is wrong for the residents who will be disturbed by this facility so clsoe to their homes and wrong for the residents who will have speeding fire engines tearing down their local roads to get to emergencies. Although fire and rescue services are the responsibility of the County Council, Woking Council is involved and this can only mean more costs for Woking residents.

I have two messages to Woking Council - Leave Horsell Alone and stop wasting our money!

WWF submit application for Brewery Road car park

WWF has submitted the anticipated application to build a new headquarters building on Brewery Road car park.  You can view the full details of the application here.  Please be aware that Public Access for Planning that holds planning applications has been updated and you may find the interface very different from your last visit. The facility to view documents from an application does not appear to work on Macs or Google Chrome browser. I have taken this up with the planning department and await their response. I have also noticed that my detaails, as a councillor for Horsell West are not showing up on applications.

You can give your views on WWF's application online or write to the Council. If you have a view please remember to have your say.

Sainsbury's Self Service Tills Encouraging Use of Plastic Bags?

I am growing increasingly frustrated with the operation of Sainsbury's self service tills which seems to be completely at odds with the store's policy to reduce plastic bag usage.

The tills give the option of using your own bag. Several times I have put down my bag, containing my purse, phone and other items in order to add a few purchases to the bag. The till refused to work, saying there was a problem with my bag and to ask staff for assistance. A member of staff then came over and pressed a few buttons and I was able to complete my purchases. At no time did a member of staff tell me the till didn't like me puttting a bag down that already contained other items. My husband pionted out the problem with other items in the bag so on my next visit I had an empty Sainsbury's reusable bag with one empty carrier inside. The till still refused to work.

This systems seems to promote the use of Sainsbury's branded plastic carrier bags which are prominently placed on the tills whilst the reusable bags are further away, out of reach.

I have written to Sainsbury's and asked why the operation of the self service tills is so much at odds with their policy to reduce plastic bag usage.  Specifically I have asked the store:

1. Why can't I add a few purchases from Sainsbury's to my handbag?
2. What if I do some shopping at other stores then call into Sainsbury's for some bread or milk. Why can't I add these items to my bag?
3. Why don't staff tell customers what is causing the problem so they are at least forewarned for their next visit?

I will update this post with the reply I receive from the store.

A Gold Plated Bridge for Woking?

Woking Council expect to spend up to £1 million pounds on a new bridge between Brewery Road Car Park and the town centre.  This new bridge will replace the wooden bridge which is in a state of disrepair (in my view mainly down to a lack of maintenance by the Council).

Since we learnt that WWF hoped to build a new headquarters on Brewery Road car park questions have been asked about who would pay for a new bridge and how much it would cost.  I have asked on two previous ocassions about the cost of the bridge and received no figure.  Suddenly the Council has told us it will be up to a million pounds!  Do they plan to build a gold plated bridge?

We are told the reason for the high cost is because the bridge will carry services across the canal.  These services could include Combined Heat and Power (CHP) with the pipes to carry heat requiring to be of a signifgicant size. The interesting thing is that WWF are yet to commit to using the CHP service offered by Woking!

Light up the night - Saturday 27 November

Horsell's canalside will be lit up on Saturday 27 November when a cavalcade of brightly decorated and illuminated boats make their way along the canal from the Lightbox to Bridge Barn.  This is a wonderful event, especially for children.  The boat owners make a real effort to decorate their boats and the effect of all the colourful boats and fairly lights is amazing.

Woking Council staff will also be on the canalside to promote 'Light up the Night' which encourages people to travel safely and feel comfortable when around Woking during the winter months.

The cavalcade starts at 4.30pm on the canalside by the Lightbox.  There is also the annual craft fair at the Lighbox earlier in the day.  Mince pies and mulled wine are to be served at the Lightbox as darkness falls (I assume you have to pay for those but its not clear in the information provided by the Council)

For full details of these events on Saturday 27 November click here.

I definitely recommend dropping by to see this event.

Neighbourhood Policing is here to stay

I was very pleased to get an assurance on the future of neighbourhood policing from Chief Inspector Mark Rowley of Surrey Police last night. 

Chief Inspector Rowley was part of a panel at the Surrey County Council "Have Your Say" event in Chertsey. I took the opportunity to praise the force for the importance placed on neighbourhood policing in recent years and to ask the Chief Inspector for reassurance that this would continue.  I pointed out the excellent service provided by PC Parish (pictured) in Horsell.

The Chief Inspector said that Surrey Police were committed to continuing community policing and despite a programme of reducing more senior officers was still recruiting new officers.  He explained that the force was losing back office staff and buildings but keeping police.

This is very good news for Horsell where having a dedicated local police officer has really made a difference to low level crime and anti-social behaviour in our village.

BBC Surrey Gets It Wrong

Big confusion over at BBC News Surrey this evening.  They report a spate of burglaries in Woking but state that they took place in Horsell.

In fact not one of the burglaries listed in the story took place in Horsell.  The roads mentioned are in Goldsworth Park, Kingfield, Old Woking and St Johns.

I have sent a message to the BBC asking them to correct their error.

UPDATE - Had a call from Peter Stewart, News Editor at BBC Surrey whilst I was out today. Caught up with him at the Surrey County Council Have Your Say event this evening.  He apologised for the incorrrect information on the website but said that it came direct from a Surrey Police press release! Site has now been updated so burglaries are correctly listed as being in Woking. Only thing is Woking is now described as a "village"!

Finally - a response from WWF

I finally got an update from WWF in response to my request for information on the new HQ plans for those unable to attend the consultation events.  They have directed me to their website which gives the "vision" of the new offices they want to build on Brewery Road car park.  They have also sent me two pictures which don't seem to show much more than the ones I took on my phone at the consultation.

If you do have more questions on the new headquarters you can send them to WWF at newhq@wwf.org.uk or send them to me at cllrann-marie@woking.gov.uk  I will be happy to help you get further answers or information from other WWF or Woking Council.

Latest Horsell West Planning Applications

Just one new application in Horsell West this week.

PLAN/2010/1035
Application for a ground floor side extension and single storey rear extension at 3 Whopshott Avenue, Horsell.

Halloween Attack in Horsell

Just seen a worrying story on the BBC News site about an attack in Horsell on Sunday night.  A young man was punched, kicked and robbed of his mobile phone by a group of three men when walking along Brewery Cut / Footpath 19a.  The group ran towards Brewery Road after the attack.

The attack took place around 11pm.  The attackers are described as being in their "late teens to early twenties and of medium build" .One of the three attackers was a litttle taller than the others and was "wearing a white mask similiar to the one in the horror film Scream". He carried a white plastic bag.  A second attacker was of "mixed race or Asian appearance with black gelled hair".  He was wearing a black hooded jacket and a "black bandana with a light-coloured pattern over his nose and mouth".

Did you see the group on Sunday night or do you know who they are?  Please get in touch with Surrey Police if you have any information.  You can call Surrrey Police on 0845 125 2222 quoting reference WK/10/7866 or if you prefer you can contact Crimestoppers without giving your details and at no cost on 0800 555 111.

Full details are on the Surrey Police website.

Gathering views on WWF's plans for Brewery Road Car Park

I have set up a poll on the blog to gather views on WWF's plans for a new headquarters building on Brewery Road car park.  Please cast your vote on the poll which you will find at the top of the web page on the right hand side. Please leave your comments on the plans in response to this post.

Latest Horsell West Planning Applications

A bumper crop of applications as we move into November.  Click on the link to go direct to the full details of the application on Public Access for Planning. You can view plans, elevations, photographs and the full application documents and submit your own comments directly through the site

PLAN/2010/0991
Oak House in Ridgeway is the site of an application to build two detached houses, of 1.5 storeys high and with 3 bedrooms.  This is the third application for this back garden development.  Previous applications in 2007 and 2008 were refused by the planning committee with this decision confirmed by Planning Inspectors on appeal.  Local residents are particularly concerned that this proposed development is out of keeping with the area.  Ridgeway is an "urban area of special residential character".

PLAN/2010/0937
Application to retain a garage at 20 Grobars Avenue.

PLAN/2010/0979
Elmbury in Bury Lane is the subject of an application to erect a two storey side extension, single storey rear extension and front porch.

PLAN/2010/0969
Hamlyns, acccountants, at 98 High Street Horsell seek advertisement consent for the installation of 1 x non-illuminated fascia sign and 1 x externally illuminated sign.  This is one sign on a side wall of the property and a sign at the front.  It appears to be an updating of existing signage.

PLAN/2010/0970
Application at 5 Church Close for first floor extension, two storey rear extension, two storey side extension with integral garage to form a two storey property.  Planning permisssion was previoulsy given in January 2010 for "Alterations and extensions to the property to form a two storey property with integral garage and single storey rear extension.".

PLAN/2010/0975
Application at 14 Claydon Road for a single storey side extension.

PLAN/2010/0990
Application for the erection of a two storey side extension with dormer roof extension and single storey rear extension at 12 Rosehill Avenue.

PLAN/2010/0954
There is an application for a single storey rear conservatory at 26 Lych Way.

Police action on speeding in Horsell

Walking down Brewery Road yesterday whilst my younger daughter practiced her bike riding skills (we've recently removed the stabilisers) I was a little concerned to see a group of police officers at the entrance to Horsell Park. "Has somebody done something wrong?" asked my daughter. Before I could respond our local neighbourhood officer for Horsell PC Josh Parish detached himself from the group and came over to speak to me.

It turned out that PC Parish had assembled the resources to carry out speed enforcement across Horsell. The team had just finished work on Brewery Road and were moving on to Chobham Road and Woodham Road, another team had covered the High Street. Most of these areas are places where I often walk or cycle and there are regular occurrences of speeding vehicles. I have also been involved in Speedwatch at some of these locations. I mentioned to PC Parish that I had recently seen two cars overtaking a third car that was keeping to the speed limit on Brewery Road.

PC Parish told me that a number of tickets were handed out and some warnings given. He also mentioned that the team had not been popular.

I'm delighted to see this police work taking place. Speedwatch is helpful at slowing traffic speeds in the local area but actual enforcement by the police sends a much stronger message to speeding drivers.