Village welcomes 20mph speed limit

Residents and the parish council have welcomed the measure

A village where speeding has been a problem for decades has welcomed a new scheme.

Sedgwick, near Kendal, Cumbria, was one of the first places to see a 20mph (32kmh) speed limit introduced this summer.

It is part of a three-year programme which makes it easier to request the measure, Westmorland and Furness Council said.

Resident Mary Goodland said the speed limit in the village was "a step in the right direction".

"We were very much in favour of the 20mph limit because we've had such an increase in the traffic over the years," she said.

"It is definitely a step in the right direction. It's what we wanted, we all requested it and we've got it."

Councillor Bernie Tanham, vice chair of Sedgwick Parish Council, said she was "delighted" the restriction had been brought in because speeding had been an issue in the village for a while.

The last schemes of the programme will be put in place in 2027

"When you look at the parish records it has been raised as a problem in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, up to now," she said.

"So we are delighted and now we have to get the motorists and cyclists to adhere to the limit."

Tanham added that Sedgwick was used as a shortcut to get to Brettargh Holt and the A65.

"So, at times, it is very busy in the village, and I don't think people who drive through or cycle through are aware of the challenges that we face," she said.

Speed limits were also introduced in the summer in Crosby Ravensworth, Dufton, Kings Meaburn, Nenthead and Ousby, as well as Gleaston, Great and Little Urswick, Natland, Oxenholme, and Swarthmoor.

Consultation on 24 proposals for the second year of the programme closed in July and a decision is expected later this month.

A further 27 eligible requests will be consulted on for the third and final year of the programme.

Plans to bring in 20mph speed limits in five areas of Barrow will not go ahead after low response rates to a consultation.