Broad Chalke 20mph zone failed to follow council process

Wiltshire Council have admitted that the implementation of a 20mph speed limit in Broad Chalke failed to follow the correct process.

Wiltshire Police recently responded to concerns over driver speeds through the South Wiltshire village by conducting speed checks in the area.

The 20mph zone is immediately preceded by a 60mph speed limit.

A policy published in the mid-2010's allowed smaller urban areas in Wiltshire to apply for 20mph speed limits.

"It was done in an en-mass process," Cllr Caroline Thomas, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, told Greatest Hits Radio. saying they were keen to meet the requirements whilst dealing with a lot of places in a short space of time.

In Broad Chalke, the 20mph zone went ahead, despite average speeds at the time being a long way above what would normally have been considered for introducing such a reduction in speed limit.

"We wouldn't do that going forward," Cllr Thomas admitted, adding: (the previous process) came with the limitation of not doing the full assessment, which would happen now and would look at what happens immediately before a 20mph limit is introduced.

"Going from 60 to 20, isn't ideal."

Council re-assessing speed limits

Cllr Thomas said that changes are being considered, but said the drop from 60mph to 20mph in Broad Chalke sounds more dramatic than it is practice.

"The the 20 mile an hour zones limits are actually introduced on pretty straight stretches, so while a car may not immediately go from 60 to 20, there is actually quite a quite a length that either end for them to get down to 20 before they're really in a in a any built up area."

However, Cllr Thomas said that this isn't good enough and that the Council will be looking at all areas like this over the next year.

We're reminded that we need to drive smart on Wiltshire's roads, Cllr Thomas says speed limits are 'not a target'.

"We're not saying it's always safe to go at 60. That's a maximum and we encourage drivers to pay attention to the road conditions, other vehicles and road users and to adjust your speed accordingly."

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