By Lesley Griffiths

MS for Wrexham

Residents may be aware the Welsh Government is currently undertaking a three-point review of the 20mph default speed limit.

Initiated back in April, the first phase was the ‘listening programme’.

The Welsh Government encouraged feedback from citizens and communicated with a wide range of relevant bodies and organisations to understand their perspectives on road safety.

The purpose of the listening programme was to “refine the policy to ensure we have the right speeds on the right roads”, according to the Welsh Government Transport Secretary.

I urged local residents to contact Wrexham Council directly if they believed a particular road is not suited to the 20mph restriction, and they had legitimate reasons to support their claim.

The first phase has now ended and after gathering together all the information, the Welsh Government has published new guidance to support councils and highway agencies when making decisions on local speed limits.

From September, highway agencies have the authority to apply the new framework to assess speed limits on roads where change is considered appropriate. It could result in certain 20mph roads reverting back to 30mph but the Welsh Government has said the degree of change in each of the 22 local authorities across Wales will ultimately be determined by the public and by councils.

Local authorities will shortly be invited to submit bids for funding for them to be able to make speed limit changes in line with the new guidance, with an additional £5 million being made available for this financial year.

To be clear, wholesale changes are not expected and we mustn’t lose sight of the principal aim of the 20mph policy which is to save lives and reduce casualties on our roads.

The latest Welsh Government update arrives as further data is released indicating the change in the speed limit is having the desired effect.

Latest statistics suggest the number of casualties from collisions on 20 and 30 mph roads in Wales from January to March this year fell by more than a quarter compared to the same period last year.

The developments are encouraging and every casualty reduced makes a difference.

Constituents continue to contact me about the 20mph speed limit.

Some are for it and some are against it and I will continue to keep residents updated.

If you’re a constituent in Wrexham and there is something I could help you with, please do not hesitate to contact me via email: lesley.griffiths@senedd.wales or call 01978 355743.