Nick Herbert presses for action against racing bikers on Bury Hill
Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert has called for new action against motorcyclists racing on Bury Hill, which he described as “like being at the TT races every Sunday morning”.
Mr Herbert raised the issue directly with Sussex Chief Constable Joe Edwards when they met to discuss policing issues on 19 April.
Bury residents have approached the local MP to ask if he can help to press for new action to deal with speeding on the A29 through the village.
On Sundays in the summer hundreds of bikers converge on the Whiteways roundabout on the A29 and some race up Bury Hill. The noise of the engines screams across the village and disturbs local residents.
Mr Herbert has taken up the issue with Sussex Police at the request of local residents on previous occasions, but now believes that a new approach will be necessary. Temporary speed traps mounted by the police have been thwarted when bikers have telephoned each other to warn of the operation.
He has asked the Chief Constable and West Sussex County Council's Cabinet Member for Highways, Tex Pemberton, to consider alternative proposals, including as a last resort fixed safety cameras.
Mr Herbert, who lived in Bury for a year before moving to Arundel, said he was well aware of the problem from personal experience: "Nearly every Sunday morning in the summer it sounded as though the Isle of Man's TT races had arrived in Bury. The bike racing started very early. Together with the train horns, the tranquillity of the village was ruined."
The MP added: "I am no fan of speed cameras, but it might be that they are the only way to prevent Bury Hill being used as a racetrack in the summer. I am sure that it is only a minority of bikers who are involved, but their selfish behaviour is causing real disruption to the local community and is also extremely dangerous."
The MP has offered to convene a joint meeting between Bury residents, the police and the county council to consider new solutions to the problem.
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