PLANS to fine drivers £70 for turning right at problem Chester city centre junctions look to be several months away.

Previously we reported that Cheshire West and Chester Council was being given new Government powers to enforce traffic restrictions, meaning the local authority could apply to install ANPR (automatic number plate registration) cameras to catch out badly behaved drivers at problem hot-spots, taking over the enforcement from the police.

Having outlined a number of areas where such cameras could be installed, the council narrowed down its choices to three problem junctions in Chester city centre, and a bus lane in Ellesmere Port.

During two-day traffic surveys, several hundred drivers were seen flouting the law at each of the problem Chester city centre junctions – two of them being opposite ends of the same road.

They were people turning right into Nuns Road from New Crane Street between 4.30pm and 6pm; people turning right out of Nuns Road on to Grosvenor Road (instead of turning left to Grosvenor Roundabout), and drivers turning right from Canal Street on to Northgate Street (instead of turning left to the Fountains Roundabout).

Had everyone caught breaking the traffic law been fined £70 over those two days, the council could have collected a potential maximum of £76,230 in fines from those three junctions alone.

That would be in addition to a maximum fine collection of £7,000 for the 100 drivers caught entering a bus-only section of Civic Way in Ellesmere Port.

However, the implementation of the plans is not so straightforward.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has said that to adopt the enforcement powers, the council has to submit an application to the Secretary of State. This was approved by Cabinet in September.

The deadline for submissions is January 13, 2023.

Once the deadline has passed, the Government will consider the applications and subsequently draft the legal orders.

There is no definitive date for this, but it is unlikely to be before July 2023.

Until then, police still have the powers to catch out driers who flout the traffic laws.

The cameras, if installed in the problem hot-spot junctions, would capture moving vehicles that break the rules and Penalty Charged Notices (PCNs) could then be issued to the owner of the vehicle. The penalty charge level would be set at £70 for a moving traffic contravention (reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days).

It is also planned that drivers will only be issued with an PCN on their second offence during the first six months the cameras are in operation. First offences will then result in fines after that period.

With the new cameras, it is envisaged it would free up police resources.