Cut speed at schools

Southwell Town Council is launching a campaign for mandatory 20mph speed limits to be imposed outside every school in the country.

The council first wants the lower speed limit introduced outside each of the town’s schools.

But the chairman, Mrs Beryl Prentice, said they wanted to take it further.

“We want consistency throughout the country,” she said.

“It will be beneficial to drivers and improve the safety of children going to and from school.

“We are going to badger the Government and write to the two opposition parties and the National Association of Local Councils.

“If we could get central Government to legislate for this it could be introduced in one fell swoop.”

There have been campaigns to improve safety outside Holy Trinity Infants’ School on Westgate, and Lowe’s Wong infants and junior schools on Queen Street.

Neither road has a crossing patrol to help children cross safely.

The head of Holy Trinity Infants’ School, Mrs Julie Rischer, said: “The ultimate aim is to keep safe.

“Parents and children are very sensible, but a crossing patrol would help.

“If we cannot get a crossing patrol then a 20mph speed limit would be fantastic.”

The head of Lowe’s Wong Junior School, Mrs Shelia Street, said they would welcome a lower speed limit.

“We have long had concerns about the amount and speed of traffic outside the school,” she said.

She said they had campaigned without success for traffic calming measures.

Mrs Street said she and the head of the infants’ school, Mrs Vanessa Platt, had put signs outside the schools warning that children cross there.

The head of the Minster School on Nottingham Road, Mr Phil Blinston, said they would support a 20mph limit because many motorists ignored the current 30mph limit.

A town councillor, Mr Andrew Gregory said: “Nottingham Road is a dangerous road and it is surprising how many cars drive at less than a car’s length behind you.

“Whatever we can do will be to the advantage of all the children.”

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said local highways authorities had the power to introduce and enforce 20mph speed limits.

The lower limit is already in force in some areas of Britain, including Portsmouth and parts of Scotland, but there are no 20mph speed limits outside schools in Nottinghamshire.

The lower limit is, however, about to be trialled outside Bleasby Primary School.

It is one of five county schools where the 20mph limit will be tried for a year. The others are in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Kimberley, Arnold and Bramcote.

The county council’s service manager for policy and standards in highways, Mr Gary Wood, said they would assess the results of the trial before deciding whether to introduce the limit at other schools.

He said it was unlikely that a 20mph limit could be introduced outside every school in the county because of the nature of some of the roads schools were on.

He said some schools could, for example, be on a dual carriageway where a 20mph limit would be inappropriate.