Two Councillors in Peasedown St John are calling on Bath and North East Somerset Council to consider the use of their village as part of a new speed reduction pilot scheme.

Liberal Democrats Sarah Bevan and Nathan Hartley have long called for speed limits to be reduced to 20mph from 30mph in residential areas as part of their party’s Twenty is Plenty campaign. 

Cllr Nathan Hartley said:

“Nationally, around 57 people are killed every week and a further 350 people are so seriously injured that their lives are irreparably altered. Of these tragedies, 30% involve pedestrians and cyclists.

At 30mph, 48% of pedestrians in collision with a vehicle will be killed. If drivers were travelling at 20mph the figure would drop to just 5%.”

The Councillors, following campaigns with residents, have asked for a number of streets to be addressed, particularly Bath Road, Ashgrove and Eckweek Road where there is a children’s nursery school.

Unfortunately, these calls have fallen on deaf ears with no action being carried out. However, the authority has pledged to run a trial 20 mph speed limit in certain areas which fit the criteria, although what the criteria are remains uncertain. One inner-city zone and one large village will be selected. Peasedown St John councillors have therefore again signalled the need for this ward to be chosen.

Cllr Sarah Bevan, whose brother Tom was killed by a driver doing 30mph, said;

“Twenty miles an hour is the only sensible speed to travel when driving in highly residential or well used streets such as Eckweek Road. My brother was only 26 when he was killed. He was a fit, healthy, Merchant Navy Seaman and died instantly.

Many years on, I feel able to draw on my loss to continue making Peasedown a safer place for everyone by achieving a limit of 20mph in all our residential areas.

It’s important that Cllr Hartley and I are successful in this bid, and that our evidence-based requests do not continue to be ignored."

If Peasedown St John is chosen as part of the pilot scheme, the initiative will be implemented next year with every street having its speed limit reduced to 20mph.