SHEERING Parish Council has given `power to the people' by giving residents the chance to vote on whether they would pay for a much-needed traffic calming scheme.

A referendum, agreed by the council last Wednesday, will allow householders to vote on whether they would pay extra council tax to fund an £8,000 traffic calming scheme in Sheering Lower Road.

Last week's proposal is a triumph for campaigning Sheering councillors Don Yeo (pictured above) and David Croft who have been pressing for the council to take action by funding safety schemes along Sheering Lower Road and Campions Hill.

Campions Hill, where 21-year-old Darren Rolf was killed in a car crash last November, has been recognised as a danger spot by Essex County Council, which has agreed to make it safer with a traffic calming scheme.

Sheering Lower Road did not qualify as one of the county council's priority sites, but local residents still consider it a danger zone.

A relieved Epping Forest district Cllr Yeo, who proposed the referendum, said: "I think the majority of people will see the sense in the proposal and hopefully will vote for it. We're in the hands of democracy now."

If selected by residents, the scheme would cost average Band D householders £6.46 extra in council tax next year only. Band A householders would pay an additional £3.30 and Band H residents £12.92.

Cllr Yeo described the charges as "a small price to pay for safety", and added that referendum forms would be drawn up later this month.

The campaigning councillor has already drawn up a scheme for Lower Sheering Road with the highways department at Epping Forest District Council.

The plans include a series of signs indicating 30mph speed restrictions in Lower Sheering as well as warning signposts clearly showing junctions of Sheering Mill Lane and The Four Acres.

There will also be large `Please drive safely' signs alerting motorists to slow down on entering the village area.

The council has agreed to accept the majority decision of all those voting in the referendum which will comprise around 1,300 Sheering householders.

Last week's decision followed a public meeting organised by Sheering Parish Council last Friday which revealed strong public support for speed reduction measures along Sheering Lower Road.

New powers granted to parish and town councils by the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 mean these authorities can now fund such schemes themselves.

Meanwhile, Campions Hill is set to benefit from a sequence of red parallel strips across the road which rumble when motorists drive over them, alerting them of speed. There will also be road markings and slow-down signs.

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