Cardiff’s council leader has indicated a number of streets could be switched back after being changed to 20mph under the Welsh Government’s new default speed limit policy. Huw Thomas said a review would be undertaken after Ken Skates indicated the overall approach to the policy could change.
Speaking to S4C’s Y Byd yn ei Le, Mr Thomas said around “half a dozen” streets could change, adding: “I think it’s right we look and listen. But generally, the speed limits will stay as they are.”
Swansea council’s leader Rob Stewart said the approach was “pragmatic” and “to be welcomed,” reports the BBC. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.
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Their comments came after Ken Skates, the new north Wales and transport secretary returning from three years on the back benches, said there would be “change” over 20mph. The new default speed limit has proven controversial since its introduction in September 2023.
Speaking to North Wales Live, Mr Skates said: “There will be change that addresses the concerns that a lot of people, including half a million people who signed the petition, raised on a consistent basis. These are that there is generally universal support for 20mph being targeted in areas where there are schools, built up areas like housing estates, and outside hospitals and so-forth but in many areas routes that shouldn’t have been included, were.
(Image: Mark Lewis)
“We’ve put our hands up to say ‘the guidance has to be corrected’. This will enable councils to revert back those routes that are not appropriate. Whether the change will be radical will largely depend on what people want.”
Mr Skates took over from deputy climate change minister Lee Waters, who became the face of much of the Welsh Government’s transport policy, when Vaughan Gething chose his cabinet after being voted in as Welsh Labour leader. Mr Skates continued, saying he wanted communities to “own” decisions on speed limits “rather than having them imposed upon them.”