The West Mercia PCC has made £250k available to improve road safety in West Mercia.

Committed to improving the safety on West Mercia roads,Police and Crime Commissioner, John Campion is making further investment in road safety.

He is doing this through increasing the investment in his Safer Roads Fund. This follows that no allocation was made in the first round of the Safer Roads Fund.

With funding of £250,000 available, the PCC is encouraging more parish councils to get involved to make their communities safer.

The grant will be split into two lots to accommodate a number of initiatives. The firsts sum, £100,000, will be used for the provision of small grants and local initiatives, including vehicle activated signs and white gates. The second sum of £150,000 will be used for the provision of larger grants for geographically wider initiatives.

The investment will be building on the PCC’s initial £900,000 road safety investment and will continue to support communities in introducing new innovative campaigns, initiatives and interventions. This will begin to reduce collisions, traffic offences and increase driver awareness to help improve behaviour.

Communities and partners across the three counties can apply for funding to launch measures in their area to address local road safety concerns. The fund cannot be used for statutory road engineering projects which would normally be funded by the local authority. 

The PCC said: “Road safety is a key pillar of my Safer West Mercia Plan. It’s a sad fact that too many people are killed or are seriously injured on our roads and as the voice of the public in policing, I hear from many residents about their concerns around road safety. 

“I am committed to addressing this and want to empower as many communities as possible to play their part in a journey of change.

“That’s why I am making £250,000 available through a second round of my Safer Roads Fund. I would encourage communities and local partners who want to make roads safer in West Mercia, to complete the application by no later than midday on Friday, February 2.”

More information alongside details on the Safer Roads Fund application process can be found on the West Mercia PCC website.