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North Yorkshire Council

Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee

8 June 2023

Receipt of Petition ‘For a maximum speed of 20mph on roads in south and west Harrogate to improve road safety’

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services)

1.0

Purpose of the Report

1.1

To advise of a petition containing more than 500 signatures.

1.2

To ask the Area Constituency Committee to consider a response.

2.0 The Petition

2.1 A petition has been received by North Yorkshire Council. This is a paper-based petition with 920 signatures, all of which are of people who live, work or study in the county.

2.2 The wording of the petition is ‘For a maximum speed of 20mph on roads in south and west Harrogate to improve road safety’.

2.3 The covering letter for the petition provided the following context (see italics below):

2.4 The petition calls for North Yorkshire Council to deliver a maximum speed of 20mph across south and west Harrogate - covering Oatlands and parts of Pannal, Stray, Hookstone and St Georges areas in Harrogate (as outlined in red on the petition).

2.5 We want safer streets for the children, young people and wider community when travelling to school and other locations in the area, from their home to their destination.

2.6 Road safety has been of particular concern from school leaders, parents and carers of school children and local residents in Oatlands and the wider Harrogate area for many years.

2.7 A maximum speed of 20mph is now urgently needed to reduce road collisions, improve safety, reduce air pollution and create a better environment for walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting to schools, shops, workplaces and local amenities.

2.8 Two road collisions in early 2023 resulted in the serious injury of three school children walking to and from school and highlight the urgency and importance of a maximum speed of 20mph. Unless positive action is taken our children, young people and other members of the community will continue to be put at risk.

2.9 Over 4000 children and young people walk, cycle and travel by bus and car each day to the schools, colleges and early years settings in the area all of which are located on 30mph streets, including:

· Oatlands Infant School

· Oatlands Junior School

· St John Fisher’s Catholic High School

· St Aidan’s Church of England School

· Harrogate FE College

· Busy Bees nurseries at South Drive and Hornbeam Park

2.10 A further 5,000 children travel in, to and around the Pannal Ash Area: to Harrogate Grammar School, Ashville College, Rossett School, Rossett Acre Primary and Western Primary and Busy Bees Nursery- Pannal Ash.

2.11 This petition complements the similar initiative by Pannal Ash Safe Streets, also calling for 20mph.

2.12 Maximum speed limits of 20mph have been delivered in other rural and urban areas of Yorkshire and the UK including Calderdale, Cornwall, Oxford, Edinburgh, the Scottish Borders, London and in Wales (in September 2023). We want these improvements for south and west and other communities within Harrogate, which would deliver considerable positive impacts.

2.13 We hope in submitting this petition with over 900 signatures this issue will be scheduled for debate, at the next meeting of the local area constituency committee.

2.14 Link to petition

3.0 The Council’s Arrangements for Receiving and Responding to Petitions

3.1 The key features of the Council’s arrangements for receiving and debating petitions, as published on the Council’s website, are as follows:

· Receipt of the petition is published on the Council’s website (which has been done in the case of this petition).

· If a petition contains 500 or more signatures (but less than 30,130 signatories), it will be scheduled for debate at the next meeting of the appropriate Area Constituency Committee.

· The petition organiser is offered the opportunity to speak for five minutes at the Area Constituency Committee meeting to present his/her petition. Subsequently, at the meeting, the petition will be discussed by Councillors for a maximum of 15 minutes and a decision will be made on how to respond to the petition.

· Possible responses by the Council to petitions, as shown on the website, are:

(a) to take the action requested by the petition;

(b) not to take the action requested for reasons put forward in the debate;

(d) where the issue is one on which the council Executive is required to make the final decision, the council will decide whether to make recommendations to inform that decision.

· The petition organiser will receive written confirmation of this decision. This confirmation will also be published on the website.

3.2 In accordance with the arrangements described above, the petition organisers have been invited to join today’s meeting to present their petition.

4.0 Highways and Transportation Services Officers’ Comments Regarding the Petition

4.1 The Highways and Transport team are aware of the received petition ‘For a maximum speed of 20mph on roads in south and west Harrogate to improve road safety’. It should also be recognised by the members that highways officers are actively engaging with the local campaign groups to understand additional measures that can be introduced in the areas, this could be signing or lining improvements, the introduction of a new crossing point. This also includes working with the local Road Safety partnership to consider the ‘softer’ educational resource requirements in local schools and communities.

4.2 In addition, the then NYCC Executive approved the current 20mph Speed Limit and Zone Policy in January 2022, which was itself the subject of detailed and thorough review by the Transport, Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Twelve months on from its introduction, it was considered appropriate to see how the revised policy was bedding in and to consider what, if any, improvements should be made.

4.3 More recently, as part of the regular Area Constituency Committee feedback, Executive on 8 November 2022 considered the following resolution from the Harrogate and Knaresborough ACC from their October 2022 meeting:

“that the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee wishes a 20mph speed limit to be piloted throughout towns and villages in the constituency area where a need has been identified, and that the Executive be asked to recommend the Transport, Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, when it considers the County Council’s 20mph Speed Limit and Zone Policy on 19 January 2023, to consider appropriate amendments to the existing policy to enable such a pilot to be introduced”.

4.4 Executive requested Cllr Duncan, as Executive Member for Highways and Transportation to investigate the resolution further in order to make an evidence-based assessment. This work was concluded before the end of May 2023 and the proposed changes are due to be presented at Executive on 20 June 2023.

4.5 The expectation is that the petition will be considered as part of the updated 20mph speed limit and zone policy. In setting any local speed limit changes the County Council works in partnership with North Yorkshire Police, who adhere to the guidance set out in circular 01/2013 Setting Local Speed Limits, which requires 20mph speed limits to be self-enforcing.

5.0

Recommendations

5.1

That the Committee notes the petition and considers a response.

Barry Khan

Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services)

County Hall

Northallerton

Author of report:

Daniel Harry, Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager, North Yorkshire Council

Background Document: North Yorkshire Council’s petitions information and advice, a copy of which is on the Council’s website Petitions | North Yorkshire Council