20mph speed limits - update and next steps

17 September 2024

Between April and August, Welsh government invited people across Wales to contact their local authority with feedback on how their changes to the national default speed limit had been implemented on specific roads.

Powys County Council, along with every other council in Wales, collected residents' feedback on 20mph limits during this listening exercise, which came to an end at the end of August.

In summary, the feedback received can be broken down as follows:

53 x Responses requesting revoking of the 20mph policy. We are unable to act on these and they have been directed to Welsh Government.

97 x Responses in support for retaining 20mph speed limits.

67 x Responses requesting 20mph return to 30mph or changing 30mph to 20mph at specific locations. Some of these refer to the same areas and affect 48 individual sites or section of road.

25 x Responses for speed limit requests that fall outside of the remit of Welsh Government's 20mph review. Subject to resources, these will be reviewed once the new Setting Local Speed Limits in Wales is published by Welsh Government.

This feedback relating to the 48 individual sites or section of road will now be assessed against revised Welsh Government guidance on setting 30mph speed limits on restricted roads and other 20mph speed limit roads. This revised guidance was published in July. 

It is important to note that this is not the end of the process, and that there are a number of steps which need to be followed over the next few months. There will be further opportunities for you to have your say.

Next steps

We will be reviewing all the feedback we have received against the revised guidance. When determining whether a road should have a higher speed limit, we must be certain that any such increase will not have a negative impact on road safety.

Any section of road deemed suitable for a change, either back to 30mph or down to 20mph, will be shared with local councillors and Town and Community Councils for any further comment. Following this, any recommendations to change the speed limits will then be subject to a legal statuary traffic regulation order (TRO) process, before any changes are implemented.

Every TRO will involve a public consultation, where residents can show support or raise objections. Following the TRO consultations, final decisions will be made on any changes as part of the council's normal decision-making processes.

"We are grateful to those who took the time to provide us with feedback during the Welsh Government's recent listening exercise." Says Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys. "It was pleasing to receive so many positive comments in support of the 20mph policy and how residents felt it had improved road safety and the local environment in their communities.

"For the 48 identified individual sites or section of road the process will now begin to assess the feedback against the newly published Welsh Government guidance.

"For any roads where the speed limit could be changed, we will be liaising with the relevant local councillors and Town and Community Councils. There will also be an opportunity for the people of Powys to have their say on any further changes."

Further updates will be provided once we have completed our review.