Call for More 20mph Zones in North Yorkshire Towns and Villages

Hunmanby Parish Council will tonight discuss adding their voice to calls for more 20mph zones to be introduced in local villages.

North Yorkshire County Council is coming under growing pressure to trial a default speed limit of 20mph in the county.

The "20's Plenty for North Yorkshire" group say they now have the support of over 130 parish councils in the county. Tonight Hunmanby Parish council will be asked to back a call to create a £1m fund for the first phase of a scheme to roll out a default 20mph speed limit for North Yorkshire.

The County Council is currently looking at running a trail scheme in the Harrogate District, but executive member for transport, Councillor Keane Duncan, says doing that on a wider basis would be costly.

The county council’s executive recently agreed that Cllr Keane Duncan should look into a request from the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee which wants a 20mph speed limit to be piloted throughout towns and villages in the constituency area “where a need has been identified”.

Councillor Duncan said:

“It’s fair to say that a default 20mph limit is controversial. While it has some support, it also attracts strong opposition.

“The pilot being called for by the constituency committee represents a radical departure from our existing approach, which is based on national guidelines. It could also cost several million pounds.

“I am very keen that we investigate options to be able to provide an evidence-based assessment of the request. This will require information on factors such as road safety, environment, value for money, enforcement and lessons from other local authorities.

“It would also be useful to learn lessons from our own authority. It was only nine months ago that the executive agreed a new 20mph policy, so it is important we assess how that is working and any changes needed.

“I welcome the opportunity to investigate these factors thoroughly in order to be able to give an informed and comprehensive response to the constituency committee’s request in due course.”

The new 20mph speed limit policy agreed by the county council executive in January places a greater focus on active, sustainable travel, such as cycling and walking, and encouraging a sense of place. The revised policy followed a review and recommendations by the council’s transport, economy and environment overview and scrutiny committee. It continued to support 20mph limits and zones where appropriate, taking a targeted, evidence-based approach, while broadening its scope to recognise the importance of community and social interaction.  

The issue of reducing the default speed limit to 20Mph was discussed at a county council meeting last week at which Councillor Duncan challenged other councillors to try out the lower speed for themselves.

Scarborough Borough Councillor for Hunmanby Ward, Michelle Donohue-Moncrieffe, is backing the call for the lower speed limit and is encouraging local people to have their say:

"I am currently working with the 20s Plenty North Yorkshire campaign to try and get North Yorkshire County Council’s policy about 20mph zones changed to allow more 30mph speed limits in our villages to be reduced.

At the moment NYCC policy only allows areas outside of schools such as in Sherburn to become 20mph zones. The aim is to have a default assumption of 20mph in villages unless there is a strong reason why it wouldn’t be suitable.

Both Muston Parish Council and Reighton and Speeton Parish Council have backed the campaign"

"Any resident wishing to support the campaign can speak at the Parish Council meeting on Wednesday 30th November at 7pm. The Parish Chamber is at back of the Community Centre on Stonegate."