Council's £348,000 scheme to introduce 20mph zones

Cambridgeshire County Council received applications from community groups and parish and town councils to be part of its 20mph scheme

A £348,000 scheme will see a 20mph speed limited introduced to 20 areas.

Cambridgeshire County Council said it hoped the speed limit would improve safety and encourage more people to walk and cycle.

Officers at a meeting today said the scheme was oversubscribed, with 88 applications made by community groups and parish and town councils.

Liberal Democrat councillor Lorna Dupré said the "oversubscription" of the scheme showed the popularity of road safety schemes.

Some of the places in Cambridgeshire included in the project are Cottenham, Fulbourn, Girton, and Willingham.

Council officers said at the meeting police had told them the 20mph speed limits would be included in their routine enforcement activities.

Conservative councillor Bill Hunt said he was particularly supportive of 20mph limits near schools and the centre of villages and towns.

This comes as Rishi Sunak has said he wanted to stop road calming and safety schemes.

Tory councillor Alan Sharp said that he had concerns about “blanket schemes” where a default speed limit of 20mph was introduced to areas.

He added that for schools and in some other places, the 20mph speed limit was “important from a road safety point of view”.