Speed limit reduced to 50mph near new Penistone development

Drivers on the A629 will be limited to 50mph under new plans, officials said

A speed limit on a busy road in South Yorkshire is to be reduced in a bid to make it safer.

The limit on the A629 Halifax Road near Penistone is to drop from 60mph to 50mph.

It will be in place from the Hoylandswaine Roundabout to the Huddersfield Road Junction, Barnsley Council said.

The cut, aimed at boosting safety at a new development near to Well House Lane, was approved on Wednesday.

A cabinet meeting heard the full costs involved in the change would be met by the housing developer.

The reduction is part of a planning condition imposed by Barnsley Council for a new housing development to the west of Well House Lane

As part of the planning permission, a study was made of traffic speeds on Halifax Road, passing the junction where the homes will be built.

The survey found that 85% of traffic on the road travelled at 52mph or below, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor James Higginbottom, cabinet member for environment and highways, said a pedestrian crossing would also be implemented near the entrance to the new development.

He told a cabinet meeting collision data had shown there had been four serious and three minor collisions on the stretch of road in the last five years.

He added that drivers "would not adhere to a limit lower than 50mph without additional measures", such as speed cameras, which required "significant funds and greater collision justification".

A report concluded that the new speed limit would be "more appropriate and improve the safety level of the whole road environment".