A GROUP of Llandogo residents who say an accident is “just a matter of time” are campaigning to stop vehicles speeding through their village.

The campaign ’Stop Speeding in Llandogo’ aims to put a stop to what campaigners describe as “ridiculous speeds” that they witness on the A466 in its 30 and 40mph zones on a daily basis.

Speeding vehicles are a common sight in the village. A police speed operation in 2015 showed that around 87 per cent of vehicles travelling through the village were exceeding the limit. The average speed was 37mph with the top speed of 71mph.

Nickie Moore, from the campaign group, says residents are “exasperated and often frightened" by speeding in the village.

“Many here believe it is only a matter of time before we see another road traffic accident or even a fatality, and we particularly fear for our children crossing to get to school and bus stops and for our elderly residents,” she said.

Llandogo is the only village on the A466 not to have prominent road signs or any traffic calming. According to campaigners speeding was identified as the number one concern for residents in a recent community consultation, but they say because the village is not an ’accident hot spot’ Llandogo has been “completely overlooked”.

On Thursday 20th September from 6:45pm at Llandogo Millennium Hall, the community will be joining together with Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) and Gwent Police to work towards finding the best solution to make the road less frightening and safer for all. 

To start things off, local composer Justin Nicholls is going to be working with children from the primary school and residents to perform the campaign chant with ’Slow Down Llandogo’ banners held high, before a community surgery-type format where residents can engage one-to-one with MCC and Gwent Police.

Attending from MCC will be Roger Hoggins, Head of Operations and the area’s County Councillor Debby Blakeborough. Gwent Police Police and Crime Commissioner Jeff Cuthbert and Inspector for Abergavenny and Monmouth, Damien Sowrey, will be attending. Residents will also be invited to vote on which traffic calming measures they feel would best suit Llandogo. They will also be encouraged to sign up to join the local SpeedWatch group and sign the campaign petition - Stop Speeding Petition.

Ahead of the meeting, campaigners met with Monmouth MP David Davies on Friday to seek out more support for the campaign.

Campaign coordinator Mr Phil Moore explained that even this was not the full story as many cars slow down to some extent in the centre of the village then speed up again at both ends as they leave.

“There is a school here but no zebra crossing or any other kind of signage” Mr Moore told David Davies. “It is a miracle that we have not had a serious incident”.

David Davies said: “Residents have made a powerful case that they are being left out when it comes to measures designed to reduce speeding. High visibility signage of some sort exists in all of the other villages apart from Llandogo. Obviously signs do not discourage those who take no interest in speed limits but many people will slow down if they see a reminder.

“Mr Moore and his group have done a fantastic job of bringing this important health and safety issue to everybody’s attention. I would like to fully back the campaign and will be writing in support of it to the council.”