Tories split over A4 50mph plan

On Tuesday (May 29) West Berkshire Council’s overview and scrutiny commission kicked back a decision by the portfolio holder for transport and highways, David Betts (Con, Purley-on-Thames), to introduce a 50mph limit along the stretch of road between the two A340 roundabouts.
Five Conservative councillors, Richard Crumly (Con, Thatcham Central), Dominic Boeck (Con, Thatcham South), Sheila Ellison (Con, Thatcham North), Roger Croft (Con, Thatcham South) and John Horton (Con, Thatcham North), called in the decision and asked Mr Betts to rethink proposals he had approved in April.
They believed the drop would be unenforceable and would wreak havoc on the traffic flow through the area.
Mr Betts stood by his decision, however, and now has a choice to steamroll through the move, or climb down.
He said as a former member of the speeding task group before becoming a cabinet member he took the word of the committee and backed its suggestions wholly.
“This is not the thin end of the wedge and will not be used to drop the speed limit right across the A4,” he added.
The council’s principal highways engineer Andrew Garrett dismissed the 10 reasons given for opposing the changes.
He said he disagreed with claims it would be unenforceable and said that the police would be happy to monitor the road despite claims from the committee that the Thames Valley force’s slashed budgets would put needless strain on officers.
He said statistics backed up claims that the road as dangerous and susceptible to a higher than average number of accidents.
When pressed by the committee Mr Garrett conceded that the two fatal accidents on the road had little to do with speed and more individual error.
In October a 41-year-old Richard Agar died when he was hit by a van travelling on the road, while intoxicated.
In November 2010 Walter Bunyard, aged 82, from The Crescent, Padworth, was killed after his wife walked into the path of an oncoming car whilst pushing his wheelchair.
Mr Crumly spoke on behalf of the objectors and said personal experience had led him to believe the road was fine as it was, as a main road connecting the area with London, and that statistics could be manipulated in any way to fit a point.
His views were backed up by Conservative committee members Mike Johnson (St Johns), and Quentin Webb (Bucklebury), as well as their Liberal Democrat counterparts David Rendel (Thatcham Central), Tony Vickers (Northcroft) and Jeff Brooks (Thatcham West)
Only committee member Emma Webster (Con, Birch Copse) backed Mr Betts decision, and after being voted down the proposals will now go back to him to further examine the need to drop the speed limit.