20mph Speed Limits
Update December 2024
The Welsh Government’s regulations that change most 30mph speed restrictions to 20mph, came into force in 2023. There was significant public reaction, including a petition on the Senedd website with nearly half a million signatures opposing the move. I voted against the regulations and as Welsh Conservatives, we have committed to reversing the Welsh Government's 20mph speed limit regulations.
In my view, while in some areas a reduced speed limit is appropriate, such as outside schools, and other busy areas, I firmly believed that the Welsh Government simply needed to make the process much easier for reducing speed limits in areas where there was concern, and where there was community support, rather than bringing forward the default policy in the way they did.
In many cases I have requested a change to 20 mph myself, the default 20mph introduction has had overall, a serious negative impact in my view. I conducted my own survey by asking the people of Montgomeryshire to rate the Welsh Government's rollout of their default 20mph policy, with 0 being very dissatisfied and 10 being very satisfied. 77% of respondents to my survey rated the rollout as being below 3, meaning that over three-quarters of respondents were dissatisfied with the Welsh Government's approach.
Due to the public response and pressure, the Welsh Government said that while it continues to believe that 20 mph is the right speed limit in places such as near schools, hospitals, nurseries, community centres, play areas and in built-up residential areas, it would press ahead with refining the policy.
The Cabinet Secretary who is now responsible, set out his plans to engage with the public and to achieve “the right speeds on the right roads’’.
The review has now concluded, but I am not satisfied myself that this work considered and represented the views of the whole of Wales. The Government believe that the new guidance provided to highways authorities will help make the right decisions for local roads.
The guidance also asks authorities to weigh the pros and cons of raising the speed limit, considering factors including distance from amenities, the impact on bus routes, and housing density in the area. The new framework came into force in September 2024 and the numbers of roads reviewed is expected to vary considerably depending on the volume of feedback received by each highway authority. Highways authorities also have access to an additional £5m funding for this financial year to change speed limits.