Chapmanslade residents are celebrating the return of their village sign after an absence of over two years.
The sign, at the Frome end of the village, was knocked down in a road traffic accident in October 2015 and was subsequently removed by highways engineers. Although Chapmanslade is in Wiltshire, the speed limit signs on the Frome side of the village are in Somerset and this led to some confusion on the part of the local highways authorities about who should repair the damage.
Phil Jefferson, former parish council chairman, explained that it has been a two-year battle of emails and unfulfilled promises to get the sign placed back in position.
“Somerset Highways took some persuading that it was their responsibility to restore the sign, but they finally relented and the work has now been carried out,” he explained. “Strangely, a couple of months ago, the damaged sign was found in a corner of the Wiltshire Highways depot in Warminster and was then handed over to Somerset.
“I’m delighted that at last we’ve got our sign back, especially as it asks motorists to drive carefully through our village. Speeding is a real problem in Chapmanslade and we are ever hopeful that they will take due notice of the words on our sign.”
