Reply to: ‘Meadowbank’, 9 Station Cottages, Brampton Road, HUNTINGDON, Cambridgeshire, PE29 3BW Tel: 01480 435837

Mr. Jerry Massey
Director of Planning and Transportation
St. Edmundsbury House
St. Edmundsbury Borough Council
P.O. Box 122
BURY ST. EDMUNDS
Suffolk, IP33 3YS

Saturday 30 November 2002

Dear Mr Massey

Re: Amendment of Twelve Illegal Metric Signs and Removal of Four Others in Bury St. Edmunds

In view of your Council’s failure to heed previous warnings from ARM and your decision to ignore the 16 July 2002 circular from the Department of Transport - which firmly reminded you that metric signs on the roads are unlawful - a local supporter of our campaign has carried out the following amendments:
a) Nine brown signs with metres on them have had their metric distances covered and new lettering in yards affixed over them
b) Four road width restriction signs each saying ‘2.4 m’ in the Beetons Lane/Anglian Lane industrial area have been removed
c) Signs have been changed from metres to yards opposite the ‘Minden Rose’, to Nuffield Hospital, and in the town centre.

We trust that after this, your authority will obey the law in future. You will need to replace the signs removed in the Beetons Way area immediately with legal signs in feet and inches. This letter will be e-mailed to you over the weekend, so it is your legal duty to comply with the Traffic Signs Regulations without delay. If you require your illegal signs back, please notify me and I will contact our supporter to arrange their return. If you plan to report this matter to the Police, please note that our supporters have been arrested six times for changing traffic signs but the investigations have been dropped five times, and in the other case our supporter was found guilty but given an absolute discharge. Painting over an illegal metric distance was held to be ‘minimal’ damage. Your efforts would be better directed to checking and obeying the law.

Yours sincerely

Polly Peck (Miss) Information Officer for the Council of ARM