Warwickshire set to reduce speed limits

13 August 2008

Warwickshire County Council has welcomed a low level of objections to its proposals to reduce the 60mph national speed limit across its A and B network.

The authority, in response to the Government- ordered review of the national limit on all A and B roads, has found that 78 separate sections of its network have qualified for new limits, due to the environment, and current speeds.

The Government circular 1/2006 advises councils to consider 50mph limits on A and B roads with many bends, junctions and access roads, provided that compliance is likely.

But there were concerns from anti-speeding campaigners that objections from the police would stymie proposals for new limits, because they saw the circular as giving the police the role of arbiter of whether new limits were appropriate (Surveyor, 25 November 2004).

However, in Warwickshire’s case, the statutory consultation for the 78 separate changes had produced 120 suggested changes for consultees, which officers said was relatively low.

Carolyn Burrows, team leader in road safety engineering at Warwickshire, said: ‘Mostly, it’s just one or two objections to each new limit, which is less than usual. About half the new limits received no objections.’

She believed that having an earlier, non-statutory consultation on the broad principles yielding 800 responses had helped, as had a willingness from local police to consider each new limit on its merits. The police had ‘not issued blanket objections,’ as some forces did in the past, Burrows said.

‘They’ve come into the office and looked in detail at what we’re proposing.’ Warwickshire’s area committees will consider whether to proceed with the new limits in October, to allow work to start on implementing the new limits in January. Local residents in Derbyshire have already objected to a proposal for a 50mph limit, urging a 40mph limit instead.

Cllr Brian Lucas, Derbyshire’s cabinet member for environmental services, lowered the limit further, saying: ‘We listened’ (Surveyor, 10 July).

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Warwickshire set to reduce speed limits

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