Agenda item

Considered – Report of the Corporate Director – Business and Environmental Services to update the Committee on the application of the revised 20mph speed limit and zone policy since its adoption in January 2022.

Allan McVeigh, Head of Network Strategy, presented the report, the key points of which are as summarised below:

·       The revised 20mph speed limit and zone policy was adopted by the County Council in January 2022 and has been used to assess all new applications and review some previous requests since then.

·       The revised policy sets out a notable strategic change to the assessment process, that whilst vehicle speed and collision data sets remain essential, the broadened scope includes evaluation of the sense of place and community and how a 20mph speed limit may positively impact both.

·       Officers are aware of the on-going campaign by 20’s Plenty, encouraging Parish Councils to sign up to its vision of default 20mph speed limits. The County Council is actively working to better promote the use of 20mph speed limits and zones

·       Since the new policy was adopted by the County Council, all new applications have been assessed against the revised criteria resulting in positive decisions and work continues to review some previous applications to determine if there is now merit. To date, including ten previous applications being reconsidered, there have been 27 applications received. Three applications have been approved, these are for extensions of existing 20mph speed limits in Bradley and Cononley, both in the Area 5 Craven and the other being a new implementation on Staxton in Area 4, Ryedale.

·       A workshop with the Area Highways Teams and other Highways and Transportation Teams has been held to allow officers the opportunity to discuss the policy and ask any questions on its application to ensure there was a consistent understanding and applications.

·       Since its implementation, the revised policy is having a positive impact by providing potential applicants with a clear rationale of where and when 20mph speed limits are suitable and sets out how any applications with be assessed.

·       The outcomes of all of the investigation work will be presented in a forthcoming report via Cllr Keane Duncan, Executive Member for Highways & Transportation.

There followed a discussion with the key points as summarised below:

·       A Member felt general driving standards had decreased across the board, so the use of temporary Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) installations across the county by 90 communities, resulting in the installation of 145 temporary speed limit reminder signs are now on the road network was welcomed and supported.

·       A Member raised the benefits for pedestrians if a blanket 20mph speed limit was to be introduced in local communities, this would be from a safety perspective for pedestrians such as buggie/pram users if walking alongside carriageways or crossing roads but also from a health and wellbeing perspective if a lower speed limit gave them more confidence to get out and about.

·       As part of the new unitary council, a Member asked if as part of new housing developments there could be interventions from Highways to restrict the speed limits in these areas. It was noted that speeding could be mitigated by being designed out as part of the road layouts for new housing developments.

Following a robust debate, the following amendments to the report recommendations were proposed and seconded.

Amendment 1 - Recommend to the Executive Member for Highways & Transportation a presumption to approve 20mph speed limit applications received under the current policy.

A vote was taken on the proposed amendment and was lost on the Chair’s casting vote following 7 votes for, 7 votes against and 1 abstention.

Amendment 2 - Recommend to the Executive to adopt 20mph speed limits where appropriate outside schools and areas of high footfall.

A vote was taken on the proposed amendment and was supported with 9 votes for, 5 against and 1 abstention.

County Councillor Mark Crane left at this point.

Amendment 3 – That the Transport, Economy and Environment O&S Committee support the resolutions passed by the Harrogate & Knaresborough ACC (12/10/2022) and Selby & Ainsty ACC (13/01/2023) for 20 mph speed limit pilots to take place within local communities (as detailed below).

A vote was taken on the proposed amendment and was supported with 7 votes for, 6 against and 1 abstention.

For information - Selby & Ainsty ACC resolved: “That the Selby & Ainsty Area Constituency Committee wishes the Executive to be advised that we would like to be included in the proposed pilot scheme as detailed in the proposal below approved by Harrogate and Knaresborough ACC -

“The Executive be advised that the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee wishes a 20mph speed limit to be piloted throughout the area towns and villages in the constituency where a benefit has been identified and that the Transport, Environment, Overview scrutiny Committee when it considers the County Council’s 20mph speed limit and zone policy on 19th January 2023 to consider appropriate amendments to the existing policy to enable the pilot to be introduced.”

That North Yorkshire Police be contacted to ascertain their current policy in respect of fixed speed cameras, and to determine whether such cameras could be deployed in the area to address concerns regarding speeding traffic, with details submitted to a subsequent meeting of the ACC.

Resolved –

That the Transport, Economy and Environment O&S Committee:

i.            Notes the impact that the 20mph Speed Limit and Zone Policy 2022 has had since its adoption;

ii.           Notes the progress made on delivering the recommendations of the TEE O&S Review;

iii.         Notes the continuation of existing national guidance to Local Highway Authorities on speed limit setting and the alignment with the existing NYCC policy on 20mph speed limits

iv.         Recommend to the Executive to adopt 20mph speed limits where appropriate outside schools and areas of high footfall.

v.          Support the resolutions of the Harrogate & Knaresborough ACC (12/10/2022) and Selby & Ainsty ACC (13/01/2023).