Call for 20mph limit on all of Shropshire's residential roads fails to win backing

A motion for the county to follow other areas in bringing in a blanket speed limit was defeated.

The idea was put forward by Shropshire Council Liberal Democrat Hannah Fraser and was supported by Labour and the Green Party. She called for the council's scrutiny committee to form a task and finish group on the issue.

But the idea, already taken up by other councils like Bristol and Edinburgh, was defeated by five votes to three.

Councillor Fraser said: "Shropshire’s current policy does not deliver what people want, which is less traffic and less speeding on our residential streets.

"I cannot understand why the council won’t look at this properly, find out how much it would cost and what the benefits would be. Many communities have been asking for 20 mile an hour limits for years, and their requests continue to fall on deaf ears.

"The Conservative members of the committee do not want to look at this because they think it will cost money, but if it saves lives and improves our neighbourhoods, we owe it to the people of Shropshire to look at it properly."

However, Tory councillor Dan Morris said the decision was made to discuss the matter by members of the Other Place scrutiny panel which would meet in March.

"I think it will be covered then," he added. "This motion would have led to double counting and would have created more work."

In November a public meeting was held in Shrewsbury to look at moves to turn Shropshire towns into 20mph zones.

The meeting heard representations from people around the county. In the same month, members of Shrewsbury Town Council backed a move to introduce 20mph limits in the town and the national founder of the 20s Plenty campaign was guest speaker at a meeting held in Ludlow.

He explained how the current 30mph speed limit was put into practice in 1934 and argued that it is no longer relevant for 21st century community needs.

20mph speed limits have been shown to reduce collisions, reduce fatal and serious injuries, improve air quality and improve general health and fitness.

They also save money spent on dealing with accidents and ill-health related to traffic and car travel. They have been successfully implemented in many areas up and down the country.

Warrington Borough Council has reported a 25 per cent decline in collisions as a result of its 20mph policy and the Scottish Parliament is considering new legislation to make 20mph general throughout Scotland on residential roads.