IT should have been set up more than four months ago in an attempt to slow down motorists, but this week there is still no sign of the fixed speed camera being erected on the A325.

The camera, which is supposed to be installed at Holt Pound, was one of six that was set to go live across Hampshire at the beginning of April this year, but although most of the cameras are now up and running, the A325 is still without its fixed camera.

Now the Safety Camera Partnership for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, which is responsible for setting up the permanent camera, has admitted that despite publicising a fixed camera on this stretch of road on its website, there is no camera as yet at the site.

Members of the safety camera partnership include Hampshire Constabulary, Hampshire County Council, the Highways Agency and the Magistrates Courts Committee.

Spokesperson for the partnership Julian Hewitt told The Herald that the programme of rolling the cameras out across the county began in April and most of them were now in place.

ÒThe whole business is very complicated and we have got to make sure they are in the exact position where they are going to do their job,Ó he said.

ÒWe need to make sure that it can be serviced, it is in a place where the electricity can run to and it is visible to motorists coming along the road. This is all part of our programme of rolling them out.

ÒWe began the programme in April and most of them are now out but some of them are not installed yet. It does take time and we want to get it right. We need to make sure that it is in the right position and not a danger to motorists or to our operators, who have to service them, or to anyone else.Ó

Mr Hewitt said that a fixed-speed camera on the A325 was advertised on the partnershipÕs website to encourage motorists to slow down on this stretch of road.

ÒThe reason we advertised it to the public is to slow them down,Ó he said.

ÒWe are not trying to catch people. We are trying to slow them down and encourage them to take more care on the roads.

ÒWe have put cameras at places where there has been a high level of people being killed or seriously injured. So what we are actually saying is that this is a place where there is going to be a camera, and they should drive with even more care on that road because it is a road that has had a high level of accidents.Ó

As previously reported by The Herald, a need was identified for a fixed speed camera for this stretch of the A325 after mobile speed cameras tested here in the last few years were successful in reducing the level of speed, leading to a drop in the number of serious accidents.

Four people were killed or seriously injured on that stretch of road between 1998 and 2000, while 11 people suffered a slight injury which could have life-changing consequences.

However, latest figures show that between 2001 and 2003, during which time the mobile cameras were tried out, the number of people killed or seriously injured on the same section of road fell to three with 10 people suffering slight injuries.

And the partnership is confident that when the permanent camera is finally installed on this section of the A325 it will reduce the number of collisions further still.

Mr Hewitt said: ÒTwenty four people were killed or seriously injured on roads across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight every week in the last three years. We are trying to reduce this.

ÒThe position of the fixed camera on the website is a general indication of where it will be.Ó

A number of site visits have been undertaken in the last few months in an effort to decide the most suitable location for the permanent camera to be erected on this stretch of the A325.

Mr Hewitt added: ÒWe have had several site visits to look at this. None of this is a quick process. We want to get it right because it is expensive.Ó

A decision on the exact siting of the fixed camera was due to be made as The Herald went to press on Wednesday.