Village speed limit reduced over safety concerns

A village is set to have its speed limit reduced from 30mph to 20mph after residents raised safety concerns with the local authority.

Sherston, in north Wiltshire, has narrow roads and a local councillor said the village has been "at the mercy of motorists".

Cllr Martin Smith said its small country lanes are some of the "most dangerous roads" and that a 20mph limit was about "making people feel safer".

He also said many of the narrow lanes in and around the village have no footpaths.

"Even at 30mph, if you get passed by a vehicle doing that speed quite close and you're a pedestrian or a cyclist or on a horse it is quite alarming," he added.

"There is nowhere for anybody to duck out of the way, you're at the mercy of the motorists."

The reduction in the speed limit has taken a year to be approved, with officials using metro counts throughout that period to justify the changes - this is technology that gathers data on traffic, including the number of vehicles and their speed.

The change was campaigned for by the Malmesbury Local Highways and Footpaths Improvement Group, and supported by the Malmesbury Area Board, Sherston Parish Council, and Mr Smith.

The scheme will be paid for jointly by Wiltshire Council and Sherston Parish Council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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