CHECKS are planned in a village where parish councillors say they are concerned at traffic speeds.

They are due to start next Thursday, September 9, in Guilden Sutton.

Earlier this year a two week assessment by Guilden Sutton Parish Council saw a number of peak hour sessions with a Smiley SID device on Guilden Sutton Lane and at other locations.

In total, 1,645 drivers passed the equipment with overall average speeds at 33mph or below. But 40 drivers exceeded 40mph in the village’s 30mph zone, which includes a primary school, with a maximum recorded speed of 49mph.

On Guilden Sutton Lane itself, the main route to and from Chester and Guilden Sutton primary school, one session saw almost one in three drivers passing the equipment at between 36mph and 46mph.

“I believe that speeds of this order in a 30mph limit are unacceptable,” said Cllr Derek Hughes, last year’s council chairman.

“There can be no justification for so many drivers failing to observe the limit.”

Cllr Bill Moulton added: “It is reassuring that overall most average speeds were closer to the limit but I am concerned, and I am sure that many other residents will also be concerned, that 40 drivers felt they were safe to drive at 40mph or more in the 30mph limit.” The data recorded by the device is passed to the highway authority and the police.