MONMOUTHSHIRE County Council has been accused of “kicking the can down the road” over the issue of speeding along the B4245.

Councillors and residents attending meetings of the Severnside area committee have long called for authorities to make the road a priority for enforcement.

The road, which connects Caldicot, Rogiet, Undy and Magor, was the scene of two serious car accidents earlier this year, with concerns also raised about heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) using the road.

In April, officers agreed to write to local haulage companies asking their HGVs to use the A48 instead of the B4245. But the committee heard on Monday that the council are yet to send the letter, which Independent councillor Frances Taylor called “disappointing”.

“This was nearly three months ago, and members of the public are asking what is happening with the follow-up,” said Cllr Taylor.

“There was another collision on the weekend on the B4245 by Blenheim Avenue. This issue has been going on for so long, we really need to see some action.”

Labour councillor Dave Evans pressed the council’s highways group engineer, Paul Keeble, to send the letter within 72 hours. Mr Keeble said that work on a traffic report had started but some of it would have to wait until an outcome on the M4 relief road public inquiry.

“If we were to rush out, without knowing the major impact of the relief road on the B4245, it would be a waste of money and time,” said Mr Keeble.

But Labour councillor Tony Easson said: “I feel like we’re just kicking the can down the road. We need to address the situation now.”

In 2016, a week-long study by road safety watchdog GoSafe found that the average speed on the road was 28mph, and that 85 per cent of vehicles did not exceed 32mph.

Gwent Police Superintendent Ian Roberts said on Monday: “The criteria for deployment of a GoSafe camera is that the 85th percentile is 35mph, and in this case it doesn’t cross the threshold. “There are a number of different ways of looking at speed reduction, which is the main objective of the vans – not enforcement.

“With speeding I think we need to think a little bit outside the box.” Labour councillor Alan Davies said plans to form a community Speedwatch group in Caldicot had been dashed after finding that the necessary police equipment was unavailable.

Angela Randles, of the Magor and Undy Crime and Prevention Panel, said they faced the same issue but was informed that both equipment and funding had been approved.

When asked by Conservative councillor Lisa Dymock how communities could change the public’s perception of speeding, Supt Roberts replied: “Speedwatch is a great initiative and funding can be sorted out quite quickly between myself and the commissioner.

“We can all sit here and wish for more resources. I think we need to get communities involved and understanding what the reality is. “[Gwent Police] needs to do more about how we communicate within community interest groups online, other than our own Facebook page.”