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20mph speed limit for Andover Road rejected




Mother's campaign not backed by council

LOWERING the speed limit along one of Newbury’s busiest roads will not automatically reduce safety.

That was the view of one senior district councillor who ruled there is insufficient evidence to suggest that decreasing thespeed limit on the Andover Road from 30mph to 20mph would pose less risk to the public.

As a result, Jeannette Clifford, West Berkshire Council’s portfolio holder for transport and the countryside (Con, Northcroft) said the request will not progress to public consultation.

In 2017, concerned mother Julie Knapman launched an online petition in an attempt to improve road safety in and aroundAndover Road, which is regularly used by schoolchildren at Park House School and Falkland Primary School.

There have been a number of incidents in the area of the schools since 2012, along with several near-misses, while two vehicles left the road within a 10-month period in the area of Gorselands and Conifer Crest.

The request was formally rejected at a meeting last month on the grounds that current speeds were too high for a 20mph zone to be introduced along the A343 route without installing traffic calming.

Analysis of school time speed data also showed mean speeds fell to 20mph and it was agreed that the road has good visibility and pedestrian facilities.

Mrs Clifford told the council chamber that research carried out by an independent Speed Limit Task Group – comprised of both Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors along with several transport officers – suggested that a 10mph reduction would not result in greater safety.

Mrs Clifford said: “It’s simply not the case that reducing legal speed limits automatically improves safety.

“The latest Department for Transport report backs this view up.

“These are more complex decisions than that.

“The evidence of these two cases suggested that they would not increase safety and the decision was made at the end of a thorough and independent process.”

Having chaired the governing body at St Bartholomew’s School, Mrs Clifford added that she had “nothing but respect” for the headteachers and governing bodies at Park House and Falkland Schools and reiterated her admiration for their support for the campaign.

“After all, I am a Newbury councillor, so politically, it might have been better if these schemes were taken forward to consultation,” Mrs Clifford said.

“But if you know me and anything about my background, I would never, ever play politics with safety.”

Mrs Clifford said that, upon future examination, the outcome could be different if new data emerges.



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