New route to 20mph limit proposed after county rejects Community Highways Scheme proposal

The Community Highways Scheme submitted by GPC to the county in late July would have seen the current 30mph restriction along The Street in the centre of the village reduced to 20mph along with new “buffer” zones of 40mph on each approach, in place of the current 60mph national speed limit.  A petition in support of this proposal was signed by more than 200 residents in just a few weeks.

However, analysis by West Sussex’s highways team of actual traffic speeds along the roads involved since then showed that the average in the “buffer” areas was already below 40mph.  Its experts suggested that enforcing a 40mph limit on these roads might result in average speeds increasing – which is why the county nixed this Community Highways Scheme.

It noted, however, that average speeds along The Street in the village centre, where the current 30mph restriction applies, were above 20mph and advised that a simpler Traffic Regulation Order covering just this stretch of road might be a more appropriate approach – just as GPC had originally proposed.

Chairman Gillian Charlesworth said: “We only submitted the more complex Community Highways Scheme proposal because we had been advised that there had to be a ‘buffer’ area between the 20mph zone and roads where the national limit applied – but this latest response from West Sussex appears to indicate that this is not necessary.

“While making no promises, the county suggested we consider re-applying for a simpler scheme along the lines of the one we had originally put forward, covering The Street from its southern end to Carpenters Town on Selham Road and to the top of Popple Hill.”

GPC will consider its response at its next scheduled meeting, on Wednesday 4 November.   Making the community’s roads safer is a key part of its Village Plan, following a recent spate of near misses on local streets at a time when traffic through the neighbourhood is increasing, with more development, including the recently approved Woodcote expansion, along with an increasing trend towards multiple vehicle households and more online shopping deliveries.  Meantime, cars, lorries and vans today are much larger and faster than our roads were originally envisaged to handle.