Following questionnaire surveys undertaken by the Parish Council in 2020 in connection with the Neighbourhood Plan, the impact of traffic was seen as the most important issue for residents. A range of concerns have been raised by residents in connection with traffic through the Parish:

1 Speeding traffic through the parish's three settlements, particularly at:

• Burrough End, Top End, Main Street and Woodgate Hill, Great Dalby
• A606 Melton Road and Cross Lane/Sawgate Road Burton Lazars; and
• Little Dalby.

2 The impact of the proposed Melton Mowbray Distributor Road on traffic flows through the parish's three settlements;

3 Rat running, where drivers use residential streets and other streets not intended as shortcuts instead of main roads designed to handle larger volumes of traffic. The principal concerns being:

• Drivers using Woodgate Hill/Burrough End instead of the B6047 Great Dalby;
• Drivers passing through Burton Lazars on the A606 using the route through Little Dalby as a means of accessing the B6047 at Great Dalby and then on to Leicester using Station Road (via Scraptoft);

In response, Burton and Dalby Parish Council commissioned Edwards and Edwards Consultancy to prepare a traffic monitoring specification for Leicestershire County Council to undertake data collection using:

1. Pneumatic tubes to measure vehicle classification, direction, volume and speed; and
2. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to measure the origin and destination of vehicles.

Pneumatic tubes were laid in 11 locations over the period 19 May to 6 June 2023 (excluding the school holiday period of 29 May to 4 June). ANPRs were installed on 23 May in five locations. The survey data and Edwards and Edwards Consultancy's report are published below.

It is the Parish Council's intention to undertake annual surveys to show how traffic volumes change over time. The 2024 survey data and a report looking at changes since the first survey are published below.

The traffic monitoring has concluded that the concerns identified by the residents are unlikely to be prioritised for action by the Police or the Highways Authority. Nonetheless, the surveys have provided a robust evidence base of the traffic conditions within each of the three settlements.

Whilst traffic monitoring concludes that the concerns raised by residents are unlikely to be prioritised for action, the Parish Council would support residents that wish to join a community speed watch programme. Community Speed Watch is an educational scheme to help people reduce speeding traffic though their community. The scheme enables volunteers to work within their community to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding and to help control the problem locally. This is a scheme run by Leicestershire County Council and Leicestershire Police to gather evidence on speeding and to warn drivers who are caught speeding. In addition the scheme offers the opportunity to purchase a vehicle activated sign which can be moved between locations.

To operate in Burton and Dalby Parish, the scheme requires 12 volunteers. Also, you will be required to obtain a minimum of 200 signatures or 20% of the village/location population (whichever is the lower) to support the scheme. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Parish Clerk who will register your interest and if there are enough volunteers the Parish Council will look at the next steps.

The North & East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (NEMMDR) is a major road scheme in Leicestershire aimed at reducing congestion in Melton Mowbray town centre, as well as supporting growth in local employment and enabling local housing delivery.

The £115m scheme is funded by the UK Government, Leicestershire County Council, the Leicester & Leicestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and developer contributions, and will deliver a 7.1km road with walking and cycling facilities. Works on the scheme started early in 2023 and the road is expected to open in 2026.

As part of the construction of the NEMMDR the A606 Burton Road was closed for a three-week period from 8 to 28 January 2024. The closure caused major disruption and without the leadership of the Parish Council and the response of the wider community, the impact on local people would have been much worse. With a longer closure anticipated in the summer of 2024, the Parish Council published a 'lessons learned' report to help ensure the second closure was better planned.

The second closure took place from 1 July to 25 August 2024 and although it lasted longer, the community impact was more limited. However, repairs to damaged roads, highway verges, drainage and traffic signs on the local diversion route have not been completed and the Parish Council is liaising with the Highway Authority on this. A third closure is not expected.

In 2023, Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton, started a petition calling for cameras on the B6047 between Melton Mowbray and Market Harborough, Leicestershire, part of the route dubbed the "Rutland TT".

The B6047 has been the scene of several recent crashes, including one fatal. The route forms part of a 100-mile (161km) circular route, which passes through Great Dalby.

Burton and Dalby Parish Council is working with other parish councils on the route to address road safety concerns.