A NEW initiative is to be set up within the community to promote safer neighbourhoods by reducing the number and severity of road casualties in South Ayrshire.

At recent Prestwick South Community Council, members were joined by Sgt Alan McDowall from Police Scotland who gave a presentation on the Community Speed Watch Project, which is has been successfully implemented in Fife.

The Community Speed Watch (CSW), which is under development in Maybole and its adjacent villages, including Straiton, Kirkmichael and Crosshill, is a national initiative where members of the community join, with the support of Police Scotland, to monitor speeds using a speed monitoring device, fully funded and bought by the community.

Those caught exceeding the speed limit will then be referred to the local police, who would then issue a warning letter with a more severe action in the event of repeat offending.

The project requires volunteers to be trained to operate speed monitoring devices wearing high viz jackets in co-operation with the police and would be led and co-ordinated by Community Councils.

Prestwick South Community Council agreed that this project was “worthy of serious consideration” and that the starting point would be to involve other Community Councils in Ayr and Prestwick.