Council criticises decision to scrap 20mph zones

Residents and councillors have criticised a decision to remove several roads from proposed 20mph zones in a Leicestershire town.

The county council is consulting on plans to introduce 20mph limits on a number of streets, including Market Street, South Street and Kilwardby Street in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

But roads previously identified for inclusion, such as Wood Street, Nottingham Road and Derby Road, have since been dropped from the proposals.

Tom Stanley from Ashby Town Council said the changes had caused concern and confusion among residents and called on highways officials to reinstate the original plans.

Ashby Town Council has described the removal of seven roads from the scheme as "significant and unexpected". The original proposals would have created a more consistent 20mph area across the town, it said.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Stanley said: "It made it one continuous area rather than what we've been proposing now with bits missed off.

"You've got cul-de-sacs at 30mph, but the main junction is 20mph.

"It just seems a bit bizarre that they've got rid of a load of anomalies, then create a load more. We've certainly had residents on Wood Street who were quite annoyed with it".

Residents have differing views on the proposals.

Paul Hackwood, 65, who lives on Wood Street, said a lower speed limit would improve safety, particularly for children, and called on the county council to provide evidence for excluding certain roads.

But Logan Eddy, 23, who lives adjacent to Wood Street, said he did not believe reducing the speed limit would significantly affect drivers who already exceed the limit, adding that he had not noticed widespread speeding in the area.

A spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council said: "The scheme has been developed following local concerns and in line with speed limit guidance.

"We are now consulting with the community and stakeholders including Ashby Town Council, local businesses and residents to seek their views on the proposal.

"Feedback received will be used to decide how we take the scheme forward."

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