Grant Scheme Launched By Humber PCC Chief To Hit East Riding

Humberside’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Jonathan Evison (Conservative), has launched a new grant scheme to enable new speed and HGV weight limit cameras to be installed in East Riding.

The first such cameras could be installed in January-February 2026.

The Road Safety Measures Grant will enable the likes of parish and town councils, and organisations like Community Speedwatches to bid for 50 per cent funding for a new camera. This includes not only speed indicator devices (SIDs), but also two new types of camera, called AutoSpeedWatch and AutoHGVWatch Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.

Mr Evison said:

“My office and I are determined to do all we can to make our roads safer.
We already work with our partners like the police, councils, parishes and Community Speed Watch to tackle speeding and dangerous driving, but we still want to do more.”

Mr Evison said it had provided funded for a while for flashing speed signs, with the likes of Driffield benefitting.

“Now we are going further with a new initiative to prevent and tackle speeding.”

AutoSpeedwatch involves the use of ANPR technology to educate drivers and prevent speeding. The cameras come with warning signs to prevent sensible drivers from being caught.

Mr Evison added:

“For those who ignore the warning, being caught once triggers an educational letter from the police; being caught multiple times will lead to further action from the police against the driver.” On the AutoHGVWatch ANPR cameras, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (DPCC) Leo Hammond (Conservative) stated they were “aware of serious issues in areas like Preston with HGVs breaching weight limits, causing damage to property and a danger to life.

“We have therefore asked AutoSpeedWatch if they could help us create a camera to enforce HGV Weight limits and they have produced one.”

The Road Safety Measures grant can be viewed by: www.humberside-pcc.gov.uk/funding/grant-funding/road-safety-measures.

The grant scheme’s launch was discussed at the Humberside Police and Crime Panel’s December meeting. Mr Hammond detailed that a trial of the Auto SpeedWatch camera has taken place in Bubwith, East Riding.

He said data showed it was changing drivers’ behaviour:

“First day it was up, it caught 40 per cent of drivers speeding, now it catches about 13 per cent.”

There are 80 or so parishes with Community Speedwatch teams, stated Mr Hammond, who they would look to prioritise for the cameras:

“We’ll probably look at a range of speed limits as well.”

Community Speedwatch can only be done at roads with 40mph or slower speed limits.

The panel heard the first tranche will see 10 Auto SpeedWatch cameras rolled out, and two HGV ones trialled. Mr Hammond suggested Preston and Goxhill could end up being prioritised for the latter. Police working with East Riding Council have already launched the first HGV Watch in Preston.

Mr Evison said there had been “nervousness from the police about the quantity of the data” that the cameras would collect and capacity to cope. “We’ve reassured them that you don’t need to have something operating 24/7 to have an impact.”

Technicians are able to put in specific times for the cameras to be on. Mr Evison stated he did not believe the data quantity concerns were based in fact, “but we’ve got to walk before we can run”.

Mr Hammond reported the new cameras are cheaper than other such devices, costing about £1,000 each to install, and with an annual £179 licence. The panel also heard that Humberside Police continues to push Operation Snap, an initiative to get drivers to send in dashcam footage.

This was getting 600-700 submissions a month, Mr Hammond said, with about two-thirds resulting in police action. This ranged from a warning letter to a fine.