Time to reconsider 20’s plenty?

Valentine’s Day – time to reconsider 20’s Plenty?

Until a couple of months ago I thought 20’s Plenty was all wishful thinking and wheelie bin stickers.  Then the Parish Council got an email from Scott McNeill, campaign organiser for Gloucestershire. Scott urged us to pass a motion supporting 20 mph as the default speed limit on village and urban streets where people live, work, shop, play or learn.

A Persuasive Campaign

Following up on the links Scott sent us, I was amazed at the head of steam behind the campaign both nationally and locally. More than 1 in 3 of the UK population live in Local Authorities which already accept 20mph as the right speed limit where cars come into contact with people.  That includes our neighbours in Oxfordshire, Bath & North East Somerset and Bristol and the whole of Wales.  In all these areas and in many others the process of rolling out 20 mph limits has started.

Yes, but …

Like me, you’ve probably got questions and doubts about how 20 mph limits would work.  As a starting point, have a look at this short video by Rod King, founder of 20’s Plenty

Video is on the website or see the video here

20’s Plenty Gloucestershire

Here in Gloucestershire there is strong and growing support for wider use of 20 mph limits.  85% of the 121 town and parish councils responding to a county council survey last December were in favour.  The survey was rather a rushed affair in the run up to Christmas and we suspect that it was overlooked by a considerable number of councils.

At the most recent count, nearly 50 councils, including Stinchcombe PC, have confirmed their support for a 20 mph residential limit by passing a motion. Some of the District Councils are included and the Greens in Stroud District plan to bring a motion at the next full council meeting.

Gloucestershire Constabulary now strongly supports the use of 20 mph zones and encourages their greater use, especially in residential areas. (Based on letter from Chief Constable Rod Hansen to Eastington residents, quoted in GCC Environment Scrutiny Committee minutes of 12/1/22.)

Since I signed up as the 20’s Plenty campaigner for Stinchcombe I’ve been talking tactics with Scott and other campaigners around Gloucestershire.  I’ve also made contact with neighbouring councils, some in full support, others undecided or  unaware of recent developments.  At the national level, Rod King and Campaign Manager Anna Semlyen are approachable and full of knowledge and enthusiasm.

Public Consultation

GCC accepts that “20 mph limits are going to be a key instrument in delivering safer roads”.  It has included 20 mph limits in a wider review of its Road Safety Policy.  Full public consultation is expected to take place in April/May this year.

I’ll do my best to ensure that Stinchcombe residents are notified in good time and know how to participate if they wish. 

Let’s start talking now

We don’t need to wait for the consultation to begin considering this complex issue.  If you have thoughts or questions about introducing 20 mph limits in Stinchcombe you can contact me at Stinchcombe@20splentyforus.org.uk

  • Was the Parish Council right to pass a motion of support?
  • Where would you welcome a 20 mph residential limit in Stinchcombe?
  • Are there stretches of road you think should retain a higher limit?
  • Would you want a 20 mph limit by your home?
  • What benefits would 20 mph limits have for you and your family?
  • What doubts or concerns would you have?

I won’t have the answer to every question but if it’s possible to get one for you I will do so.

How would it fit in with our other planned traffic calming measures?

Our vehicle-activated sign (VAS), when we get it, could be used with 20 mph limits just as well as with 30 mph limits. It would provide useful data on how speeds changed with the introduction of a lower limit.   In case you’re wondering, the current position is that our VAS application is still with Highways, nearly 4 months since we first submitted it.  County Councillor Linda Cohen is helping us chase up a response.

Village gateways are compatible with 20 mph limits and are often used to reinforce them.  We have identified a preferred supplier for village gateways on Wick Lane, Echo Lane and Taits Hill.  There will be a meeting soon between representatives of the Parish Council and Stinchcombe Speed Watch and residents who have offered funding to come up with a detailed proposal.  The proposal will then be publicised so that others have chance to comment.

Kath Hudson 🦸‍♀️




PCC Candidates

Road Safety – views from PCC Candidates

If you’ve not already voted postally, you may want to read this before you vote for our next Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC). 

Current PCC – Martin Surl

Retired police officer and consultant Martin Surl (Independent) has been Gloucestershire’s PCC since the role was created in 2012 and is standing again.  Road safety has been one of his priority areas under the Safe & Social Roads initiative .  During his time in office,  Martin has allocated 1% of the total policing budget to the  Commissioner’s Fund  which supports local projects in this and other priority areas.  He instigated the recent Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC) Safe and Social Roads survey for parish and town councils.  The Speed Watch Team completed it back in January.   We thought the questions showed good insight into the current problems, especially the lack of partnership working.

A Roadside Meeting

Community Speed Watch member Don Cribb persuaded another candidate to attend a roadside meeting in Stinchcombe.  Full marks to Chris Nelson (Conservative) for sparing the time to speak to us.  We told him about Stinchcombe’s experiences trying to get something done about speeding over the last couple of decades.  Trying to back out of a drive onto busy Taits Hill Road was a bit of an eyeopener for him!

Chris, an army veteran and former Parish Council Chair, outlines his ideas in the short video Empowering Communities .  They are based on a much great role for parish councils in:

  • recruiting an additional 150 special constables to work in their own communities;
  • deploying modern speed monitoring technologies such as AutoSpeedWatch (supported by more police staff and shared funding where appropriate); and
  • making greater use of Neighbourhood Watch and Community Alert Schemes

If elected, he would want to meet groups of Parish Council representatives as soon as possible to get things moving. 

Other PCC Candidates

In the interests of balance, I emailed the comments and questions we discussed with Chris Nelson to the other candidates:

  • Martin Surl (Independent)
  • Adrian Stratton (Independent)
  • Chris Coleman (Liberal Democrats)
  • Simon O’Rourke (Labour)

At the time of writing only Adrian Stratton has replied.  He served 30 years with Gloucestershire Constabulary and you can read more about him here .  Adrian told me that speeding and road safety is ‘amongst the top topics of concern’ in the many emails he receives.  If elected, he would review the data from the OPCC survey to ‘better understand the problems and concerns’ and ‘hopefully offer ideas and long-term solutions’.  Adrian believes ‘the sight of the Police lights on the Traffic Officer’s car pulling over a motorist was one of the biggest deterrents you could have’ and wants to bring staffing of this role back to former levels.  He suggests that ‘the whole issue clearly needs to be re-vamped and made workable for all parties’ and would want to sit down with people like me to resolve the issues sooner rather than later.

Please vote thoughtfully

Putting together this article has helped me decide who to vote for as the next PCC.  I hope a few others will find it helpful too.

Kath