North Wales MS Calls for preservation of 30mph signs amidst proposed review of speed limits

A North Wales MS who has called for the 20mph speed limit on restricted roads across Wales to be scrapped is now asking local authorities to save the old 30mph signs ahead of a leadership change and review.

Conservative Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, had previously supported the move to a default 20mph limit in Wales.

But she later u-turned on the reduced limit and voted against it when the legislation was introduced to the Senedd by the Labour Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.

Since then she has called for the default limit to be returned to 30mph. This week she urged local authorities to retain their 30mph signs to reduce costs if the limit is reversed.

It comes as candidates Vaughan Gething and Jeremy Miles are vying to replace Mark Drakeford MS as First Minister and have committed to a review of the speed limits if they are elected. Mr Drakeford is set to step down as leader on March, 2024.

The MS said “Clearly, tax payers money has been wasted, and local authorities across Wales should be contacted to ask for all the old signs to be preserved for future use. Whoever is the next Labour First Minister for Wales, we are almost guaranteed a review of the default 20mph speed limit.

“The worse thing about this shifting position in Welsh Labour is that the introduction of 20mph has cost around £30 million.”

When asked for their views on the matter a Cyngor Gwynedd spokesperson, said: “Since the Welsh Government introduced default 20mph speed limits on restricted roads in Wales from 17 September 2023, former 30mph speed limits in most areas of Gwynedd have been reduced to 20mph.

“Some of the 30mph signs which were in good condition have been retained and the rest were recycled.  Gwynedd Council has applied the Welsh Government’s guidelines when introducing the new restrictions.

“Therefore, as part of the detailed review process by Council engineers, 85 sites in the County were identified where there was justification for not changing to 20mph and these areas have remained at 30mph.

“Since these changes were introduced the situation has been monitored and evidence gathered regarding how effective the changes have been. Cyngor Gwynedd continues to welcome feedback and discussion with local communities regarding the changes and its impact on specific areas.”

It also noted that the responsibility for speed restrictions and signage on trunk roads in Gwynedd is a matter for the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent as the relevant Highways Authority.

A spokesperson for Conwy County Borough Council also added “We’ve kept all the usable signs for any future maintenance use.”

Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham and Anglesey council’s were also contacted for a comment. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍‌​​​‌​‌‌‍‌​​​‌‌​‌‍‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​‌‌‌​​‍‌​​‌​‌​​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​‌‌‌​​‍‌‌​​‌‌​‌‍‌‌​​‌‌​​

By Dale Spridgeon – BBC Local Democracy Reporter ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍‌​​​‌​‌‌‍‌​​​‌‌​‌‍‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌​​‌‌‌​​‍‌​​‌​‌​​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​‌‌‌​​‍‌‌​​‌‌​‌‍‌‌​​‌‌​​