A NEW speed camera coming to Newton Abbot is not a ‘cash cow’ designed to catch out motorists, according to a town councillor who has spent years monitoring speeding in the area.

Cllr Mike Joyce has defended the decision to install the camera on Torquay Road, near the junction with Brunel Road, after hearing mixed views from residents about the plans.

The camera is expected to be installed within the next two weeks, with enforcement starting once the necessary warning signs are in place.

Cllr Joyce, who is also involved with community speed-watch, said he had received both support and criticism from people in the town.

But he rejected suggestions that the camera was primarily about generating income through fines.

‘These cameras are not a “cash cow”’, Cllr Joyce said.

‘They are installed after data has been collected from a variety of sources over a long period.

‘Community speed-watch is just one of those areas where data is used to establish if there is a problem with speeding’, he added.

According to Devon and Cornwall Police, there have been 16 injury collisions within 100 metres of the planned camera site between 2021 and 2025.

The force says the site was chosen as part of efforts to tackle areas where people have been killed or seriously injured, with Devon County Council officers consulted on the location as the highway authority.

‘Speed limits are there to ensure the safety of all and the limit is the maximum you are required, not advised, to do’, Cllr Joyce said.

The new camera will enforce both speeding and red-light offences for traffic travelling towards Newton Abbot.

For vehicles travelling towards Penn Inn, it will enforce speeding offences only.

It will be mounted on a street lighting column and painted yellow, matching other safety cameras in the area, including those on Ashburton Road.

The camera had originally been scheduled to be installed in March, but the work did not take place at the time.

Police say motorists have already been given advance warning, with large yellow ‘Safety Camera Coming Soon’ signs featuring a 30mph roundel displayed on both approaches for the past six months.

Further advisory warning signs will be installed before enforcement begins.

Adrian Leisk, head of road safety at Devon and Cornwall Police, said the camera formed part of the county’s wider road safety strategy.

‘As members of the Vision Zero South West road safety partnership, we are committed to reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads – and speed enforcement in areas of harm is a vital element of our strategy’, he said.

‘All enforcement will be in line with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) guidance’, he added.

Cllr Joyce said the issue was ultimately about preventing serious collisions, rather than penalising drivers.

He recalled the words of a road traffic officer who had told him that informing families their relative had been seriously injured or killed in a road collision was a task that ‘does not get any easier’.

‘I’m sure there will continue to be accidents’, he said, ‘But what we can do is ensure these accidents are not the result of speed’.