Councillor Carl Les

Leader

North Yorkshire County Council

County Hall

Racecourse Lane
Northallerton

DL7 8AD

6^th January 2022

Dear Cllr. Les,

Northallerton Town Councils Support for the ‘20’s Plenty for Us’ Campaign

As North Yorkshire County Council is aware, there is an increasing desire to reduce motor vehicle dominance in our cities, towns and villages and returning our streets to people, making our communities better for all.  Increasingly across the UK, local authorities are implementing default area wide 20mph speed limits where people and motor vehicles mix, particularly in residential areas, in a cost-effective way, reducing accidents, noise, pollution and fear so that children and adults alike can cross and use the road safely where they live, play, work, shop and learn.

In Northallerton, it is the Town Councils view that the potential opportunity exists to deliver area wide 20mph speed limits across large parts of the town – not simply localised restrictions confined to a small area or individual streets.  Whilst it is fully appreciated that further appraisal work will need to be undertaken to determine the suitable areas, the type of measures to be implemented and the cost implications, the Town Council considers that the potential benefits justify the need for the County Council to take the opportunity to approve a more robust and innovative stance on this matter and adopt the principle of area wide default 20mph policies, within the Department for Transport guidance.

In our view, safer streets for all, particularly children and the elderly, should be considered a priority.

As we move towards a new unitary authority council for North Yorkshire, we believe the opportunity exists to work together with parishes on issues such as area wide default 20mph policies, to demonstrate to the community that Members are listening to the local communities.

We respectfully request that this letter be brought to the attention of all Members of the Executive at their meeting of the 11^th January 2022.

We would welcome the opportunity to further discuss our thoughts and ideas with you.

Yours sincerely

Alexandra Robson

Clerk

cc.           Cllr D Mackenzie, North Yorkshire County Council

Karl Battersby, North Yorkshire County Council

Cllr C Dickinson, North Yorkshire County Council

Cllr D Blades, North Yorkshire County Council