Council pushes for extended 20mph zone

Some parts of Oswestry town centre already have 20mph limits

Oswestry town council has agreed to ask highways officials to extend 20mph speed limit zones.

Members backed a motion on Wednesday criticising current limits as "inconsistent", and calling for them to be extended to "where people are living or shopping".

Parts of the town centre became 20mph zones in late 2021, as part of changes to the one-way system aimed at making the town safer for pedestrians.

The authority will now write to Shropshire Council to request the extension.

The current restrictions apply to Church Street, Cross Street and part of Willow Street.

Green councillor Olly Rose proposed the motion, which said: "Shropshire Council have implemented some zones outside schools and in the town centre.

"This is leading to an inconsistent approach which if continued will require a great many costly road signs and vehicles constantly accelerating and decelerating between speed limits.

"Children need to be safe on their whole route to and from school not just outside of the school gate."

'Dictated from Whitehall'

The Labour transport secretary, Louise Haigh, has suggested local speed limits should be "entirely up to local areas to decide", in contrast to the previous government which described 20mph zones as "anti-motorist".

"It was completely wrong for the previous government to say that they would dictate that from Whitehall," she said in August.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.