New measures to clamp down on motorists speeding through a village near Oswestry will be introduced following a 10-year campaign by residents in the first initiative of its kind in Shropshire.

The new mobile speed enforcement site is being launched on the A483 in Pant on Monday following concerns raised by local residents about the speed of vehicles travelling in their village.

It forms part of an initiative being rolled out by the Safer Roads Partnership in West Mercia, which aims to address concerns about speeding from the local communities.

The new initiative allows the Safer Roads Partnership to relax its current protocols for certain sites and be more responsive to community concerns provided the speed data collected by the partnership supports the need for enforcement.

Having already introduced the scheme in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, Pant has been selected as the first site in Shropshire.

Katy Jenkins, communications manager for the Safer Roads Partnership, said: “We have collected speed data at Pant on the A483 and it does support the need for enforcement.

“It is our intention to carry out speed enforcement for an initial period of six months then we will assess the need for further enforcement while we continue to monitor speeds.

“It is hoped the scheme will significantly reduce the speed of vehicles travelling in the village and improve the quality of life for people living there.”

Dilys Gaskill, chairwoman of Llanymynech and Pant Parish Council, said: “We have been campaigning for the last 10 years at least to either get a bypass or improve the quality of life for everybody in the village. It’s excellent news.

“At long last they are listening to the concerns of the community.”

She added: “It’s the first one in Shropshire, that’s brilliant for Pant. The good thing is the community concern aspect.

“It’s good they have recognised Pant is a site the community is concerned about.”

Mrs Gaskill added while the scheme will hopefully slow traffic down, she also hopes it will highlight the volume and type of traffic going through the village and promote the need for a bypass.

By Suzanne Roberts