Speed campaigners urge 20mph limits across county

Dorset Council is consulting on five new 20mph zones

Road speed campaigners have called for 20mph (32km/h) limits to be imposed in built-up areas across a county.

Dorset Council is currently seeking views on five proposed new zones, in Cheselbourne, Child Okeford, Okeford Fitzpaine, Winterborne Kingston and Wimborne.

However, Dorset's 20's Plenty campaign said the council's rules were discouraging applications for limits from areas without an existing Speedwatch campaign.

The authority insisted it would consider all applications.

The 20's Plenty campaign co-ordinator Dilys Gartside said limits elsewhere had greatly reduced road deaths and had improved people's well-being.

She said: "It's about the needs of pedestrians and cyclists who would be using those roads who are being terrified out of the picture.

"Traffic journey times improve because there is less braking and noise pollution halves.

"I think Dorset should go for a presumption that in built-up areas, [it] should be 20."

Campaigner Dilys Gartside said pedestrians and cyclists were "terrified" of some roads

However, she said the council's policy on 20mph limits had discouraged applications by some communities.

The policy states that applicants should have had a Speedwatch campaign in their area for at least a year.

Speedwatch campaigners are volunteers who monitor traffic in their neighbourhoods.

Ms Gartside said she hoped the policy would be "updated and brought into line with best practice".

In a statement, Dorset Council said: “Our 20 mph policy requires an active Community Speed Watch team to be in place for at least 12 months.

"However, we fully recognise that some clearly committed communities may face challenges in establishing a team, so this difficulty on its own would not prevent an application from being considered.”

Dorset already has several 20mph zones in areas including Bridport, Weymouth and Wimborne.

The public consultation on five new proposed areas runs until 15 November.

Critics, responding to the council on social media, said limits were costly, hard to enforce and annoying for motorists, while supporters of 20mph zones said they were safer and more considerate.

In August, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the Labour government would leave decisions to local councils, after Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously described "blanket 20mph speed limits" as a "war on motorists".