PCC welcomes Transport Secretary's commitment to road safety in Swindon

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Philip Wilkinson, has welcomed comments from the South Swindon MP and Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander saying that she wants to improve road safety in the town.

The Transport Secretary recently held a meeting with residents after they had raised concerns with her about Okus Road in Old Town. She was joined at the meeting by the Swindon Borough councillor responsible for Highways and the Environment, Chris Watts.

In a post on her Facebook page, the South Swindon MP spoke about discussions at the meeting regarding the idea of introducing electronic signage, while Cllr Watts talked about a scheme in Cornwall where Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) displayed the number plates of cars which were exceeding the speed limit.

The Police and Crime Commissioner, whose office funds the Road Safety Delivery Manager at the Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership, acknowledged the importance of the meeting:

“Road safety is one of the key issues consistently brought to my attention by residents across Wiltshire and Swindon and, as a consequence was given a high priority in my previous Police and Crime Plan and remains so in my latest Plan for 2025-29, so I’d like to thank the Transport Secretary and Councillor Watts for highlighting this.

“Across the county, by better targeting resources, the issuance of speed enforcement sanctions has increased tenfold since my original Police and Crime Plan. 

“Speeding on Okus Road has previously been raised as a concern and in 2019, a traffic survey was conducted by Swindon Borough Council, where the results at the time showed that speed on the road didn’t meet the threshold to consider further speed education or enforcement.

“However, given the close proximity to a school and due to other issues raised by the local Neighbourhood Policing Team, a speed enforcement site has been identified where Speed Enforcement Officers (SEOs) have conducted five operations this year. This resulted in further action being taken against twenty drivers.

“Given the strength of feeling amongst local residents, I’d also be interested to read the results of any subsequent road traffic surveys conducted by Swindon Borough Council."

The Transport Secretary also talked about the Government’s plans to introduce a new road safety strategy, the first for over a decade.

Mr Wilkinson welcomed the move:

“There needs to be a cohesive and comprehensive strategy towards road safety which is led by central government, but allows local councils and road safety partnerships to determine the best way to ensure the safety of their residents.

“On July 4, the Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership will be holding a conference for all unitary councillors and MPs in Wiltshire and Swindon to explain the strategy surrounding road safety, where I hope the Transport Secretary’s diary allows her to attend.”

Published Wednesday 21 May 2025


Aerial photograph of Okus Road in Swindon. Photo credit: Jason Spickett