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BBC News
17-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Monmouthshire: No 20mph roads to return to 30mph, council says
A council has rejected calls to raise the default 20mph speed limit on a number of roads in council said it had conducted a comprehensive review of 20mph speed limits after residents flagged up 143 roads where they felt a return to the 30mph limit was more roads were selected to be reassessed, with the authority concluding the lower speed limits should remain in the decision Catrin Maby, Monmouthshire council's cabinet member for climate change and the environment, said: "The council's top priority is the safety of all our residents and visitors." "The reassessment concluded that all roads changed to a 20mph speed limit will remain at that limit," she council said it selected four roads for reassessment - the B4245 through Magor, Undy, Rogiet, and Caldicot, Hereford Road in Abergavenny, the A4143 in Abergavenny and the A4077 Abergavenny Road and Cae Meldon in said these roads had been reassessed against the Welsh government's updated guidance, which reiterated the importance of keeping vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists safe, while taking into account the road 1,500 responses were received from residents in Monmouthshire during the consultation. A review of the 20mph speed limit was announced by the Welsh government after significant public Minister Ken Skates previously said the decision to reverse parts of the controversial £34m default 20mph policy was in response to "consistent" concerns raised by "a lot of people".Updated guidance given to councils said there was no need to reassess all roads. The announcement by Monmouthshire council comes after Wrexham council approved plans for the speed limit to be raised back from 20mph to 30mph on more than 50 stretches of authority's executive board considered the results of a consultation in which 93% of respondents were in favour of returning road speeds to the conclusion of the Wrexham consultation, the campaign group "20's Plenty For Us" wrote on X: "Is that really a difficult decision? Saving children from death and injury or appeasing a few motorists."There are serious matters of life and death to be considered."The Welsh government said it expected most changes from 20mph to 30mph to be on A and B roads "which are typically main or strategic roads" and "away from places that attract frequent pedestrians".The new guidance came after a Senedd petition opposing the lower speed limit reached nearly 470,000 signatures - the most also took place, with protesters brandishing placards and Welsh government switched the default speed limit on mainly urban roads on 17 September 2023 and, with some exemptions, most 30mph roads became for the first year of the policy showed there had been about 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on 20 and 30mph roads.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Some Wrexham roads to raise speed limits to 30mph
More than 50 stretches of road in Wrexham are set to have their speed limits raised back to 30mph from 20mph. A review of the default lower speed limit of 20mph was announced by the Welsh government following significant public backlash. Wrexham council's executive board considered the results of a consultation which was "overwhelmingly" in favour of ending the 20mph policy, with 93% of respondents in favour of returning road speeds to 30mph. Local authority staff will begin planning the next steps, including a campaign to ensure all residents know about the changes, and begin phasing the new limits in safely. Over 8,000 caught breaking 20mph limit on one road First 20mph year sees 100 fewer killed or badly hurt The default speed limit was switched on mostly urban roads on 17 September 2023, and with some exemptions, most 30mph roads became 20mph. Introduced while Mark Drakeford was first minister, the scheme proved to be one of the Welsh government's most controversial initiatives since devolution began, and almost half a million people signed a petition calling for it to be scrapped. The public backlash prompted a review of the policy, and councils are currently considering whether more roads can be switched back to 30mph. Following the conclusion of the Wrexham consultation last week, the campaign group "20's Plenty For Us" wrote on X: "Is that really a difficult decision? Saving children from death and injury or appeasing a few motorists. "There are serious matters of life and death to be considered." It comes as figures from the GoSafe partnership show 8,881 motorists were caught exceeding the 20mph enforcement threshold in the first month of 2025 with one north Wales motorist caught driving at 89mph in a 20mph zone. The highest offence speed recorded in south and mid Wales last month was 73mph. Wrexham council applied for additional Welsh government funding for the changes to be made and it received £368,000. The report put before councillors acknowledged there were risks of injury and fatality due to increasing speed limits. But assessments of the 52 selected routes were undertaken in accordance with Welsh government guidance. Councillors were told "safety has been paramount". Guidance says a 30mph speed limit could be set if the road is "located outside city, town or village centres" and "away from places that attract frequent pedestrian and/or cyclist traffic". It also specifies that the limit can be raised "on roads with low housing density and where, if there are pedestrians and cyclists, they are or could be segregated from motor traffic". Other local authorities are still collecting public feedback or deciding which routes should be reviewed.
