Residents urge speed limit cut over 'unsafe' road

3 hours ago

Josh Sandifordin Warwick

News image — Hugh Reynolds said his Ford was written off after it was hit while it was parked on Greville Road

Hugh Reynolds A red Ford Focus with significant damage to its front left corner is parked on a residential street. A white car with damage to its front is visible behind it, along with a police car with flashing lights. A person in a high-visibility jacket stands to the left of the frame. — Hugh Reynolds said his Ford was written off after it was hit while it was parked on Greville Road

A man who says his car was written off after it was hit outside his home while parked there, is joining other residents on the road to demand action on speeding.

Hugh Reynolds lives on Greville Road, Warwick, where a petition calling for a 20mph speed limit and new pedestrian crossings along Spinney Hill was launched by neighbours.

The 72-year-old shared pictures with the BBC showing his smashed Ford after it was crashed into by another driver in February this year. He claimed it was the second time in six years that one of his cars was involved in a crash while stationary.

Warwickshire County Council said they would provide a detailed response when the petition closed at the end of August.

"It was clear they were going too fast," Reynolds claimed of the most recent crash, which was not investigated by police and dealt with by insurers.

"Whilst it was early in the morning, it could have been a pedestrian that was stood there and it could have been a very serious accident.

"The cost of replacing a car is not insignificant and to see cars driving up the road clearly driving over the speed limit makes me think that something does need to be done about it."

A man with grey hair and glasses wearing a grey t-shirt stands in a sunny back garden. Behind him are a parked car, a wooden picnic bench and raised garden beds. He is looking directly at the camera. — Hugh Reynolds said two of his cars have been involved in crashes in six years

The petition, signed by about 170 people, says there have been a number of crashes on the stretch, which has a current speed limit of 30mph, the most recent being near the corner of Spinney Hill and Blacklow Road on 26 June.

Residents claimed a previous crash at the same spot in April 2025 saw a car lose control and mount the pavement.

"These crashes are part of an ongoing pattern which demonstrates the current speed limit is failing to keep road users safe," the petition reads.

Residents also believed the road was increasingly being used as a cut-through, with sat-nav apps taking drivers through the area.

Oliver Jacques A group of around nine people stand together on a pavement beside a road, several holding printed flyers. The wide residential street stretches into the distance behind them with houses on both sides. They are standing near a lamppost on what appears to be a sunny day. — Residents are calling for a 20mph speed limit on the road and new pedestrian crossings

Mira Slavova, 46, who is organising the petition alongside Liberal Democrat councillor Oliver Jacques, said new developments and more housing around the A46 corridor were pushing extra traffic through residential streets.

"It has really made the area unliveable and unsafe," she said. "We can't cross the road, especially our residents who are older [or] who have kids."

A printed flyer is pinned to a wooden fence beside a lamppost on a residential street. It reads 'Make It Safer! Spinney Hill & Greville Road' and includes a QR code linking to the petition. The road and houses can be seen in the background on a sunny day. — Residents told the BBC they felt extra traffic on the road was making the area unsafe

Sheila Robinson, who lives on the bend near Blacklow Road, said she had seen a number of crashes during her time in the area, including one in which she claimed a car ploughed across her own garden.

"I've seen the wall across the road trashed by a car [and] I've seen the lamp-post further up the road completely wrecked," she added.

"I've had a lodger with me for 18 months and she's just moved out. She said to me 'this is the unsafest place I've ever lived' and she's just been living in a flat in London."

A spokesperson for the county council said they were aware of the petition on their website which was due to close at the end of August.

"Once the petition has closed, officers will review the submission, undertake an assessment of the location and issues raised and provide a detailed response to the petitioner," they added.

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