The parish council has been made aware of concerns at the speed of traffic in various parts of the parish, and in some places the volume of traffic – both traffic numbers and the size of lorries, notably on the routes to and from the quarry at Castle an Dinas.

The parish council is taking steps to address these concerns, and there will be steps that individuals can also take.

What is the parish council doing?

The parish council works actively with Cornwall Council (Highways), Cormac, the police and local community groups to respond to concerns raised and to be proactive in seeking solutions and lobbying for improvements to be made.

At the time of writing this (May 2022), the parish council is taking the following steps:

• parish councillors and community volunteers are working to set up a community SpeedWatch scheme (https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/support-and-guidance/on-the-road/speed-watch/), to gather evidence about traffic speeds and a speed enforcement measure on a regular basis, once the scheme is up and running
• discussions with the quarry management about the routing of HGV’s to Castle An Dinas Quarry
• expecting to hear soon from Cornwall Council (Highways) about a feasibility study for traffic improvements in the Ludgvan Churchtown and Lower Quarter areas, following a site meeting last summer attended by representatives from the parish council, police, Cornwall Council, and Cormac.
• actively lobbying for a review of the route of the A30, with the aim of bypassing the villages it currently passes through

What can you do to help maintain safe traffic speeds?

As a motorist, make sure that you yourself adhere to the speed limit – it can be surprising when looking at the results of speed monitoring to find out that a high proportion of those who speed, are local.

Report dangerous or speeding driving. Reporting speeding can be difficult unless you have evidence of the speed at which the vehicle was travelling, this is why Speedwatch schemes are valuable in this process.  Dangerous driving can be reported to the police – either by 999 if it is an emergency (eg crime in progress, danger to life), or through their 101 service by phone or online – https://services.devon-cornwall.police.uk/crimereporting/

Residents in Ludgvan Churchtown in particular have raised concerns about lorries passing through the village, being on the route between the A30 and the quarry at Castle an Dinas.  The road through the village can be difficult for all vehicles, with narrow roads and blind corners, and for HGV’s navigating this section of the route have the added problem of the size and weight of their vehicle.

The quarry managers (Cormac) have given an assurance that poor driving by its lorry drivers will be addressed, and to do this they would need details of the poor driving, the vehicle registration number, and the date/time of the incident. Evidence would be needed for any action to be taken – noting that the perception of speed by an individual may not be sufficient evidence. The quarry management advise that they regularly remind their drivers about good driving practice and that there are trackers fitted in the vehicles used, to ensure compliance with their procedures.  The quarry management can be contacted at:  aggregates@cormacltd.co.uk

It is worth noting that a number of heavy goods vehicles using the route through Ludgvan Churchtown are not associated with the Castle An Dinas quarry business – for example: other hauliers operating in the vicinity; delivery vehicles, bin lorries, fuel deliveries, farm vehicles, etc. The quarry management have often been contacted with complaints about vehicles which turn out not to be associated with the quarry