Parish councillors are calling for lower speed limits on country roads – but officers say the lack of houses on them mean the national speed limit should apply.
On Monday (November 18), Cllr Claire Dowling, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for transport and environment, is set to consider a petition calling for new 40 mph speed limits to be introduced within the parishes of Arlington, Berwick and Long Man.
The petition, established by Arlington Parish Council, names 13 individual roads where petitioners argue lower speed limits are necessary to improve safety.
County council officers disagree with this view, saying the area does not meet the criteria to be included within the authority’s annual road safety programme.
Officers also say the character of the roads — which a report describes as “predominantly rural single-track lanes with limited frontage development” — would make lower speed limits inappropriate.
In a report to Cllr Dowling, a council spokesman said: “Due to limited frontage development and local characteristics, these roads and lanes do not meet the council’s policy requirements for a lower speed limit; therefore, the national speed limit applies.
“Whilst they are subject to the national speed limit, the onus is on the individual driver to drive in a safe and judicious manner, and to the conditions of the road and the surroundings through which they pass.
“It is recognised nationally that most drivers will travel at the speed they consider to be safe for the conditions of the road.
“The majority of responsible drivers using the roads and lanes around Arlington will already be choosing to travel at a speed below the national speed limit due to the nature of the rural lanes.”
Officers go on to note how surveys of three of the named roads — Caneheath, The Street and Arlington Road West — show how average speeds are “already very close to or below 40mph”. They say the other named roads are thought likely to have similar conditions.
While officers are advising Cllr Dowling against supporting the petition’s calls, they do say the parish council may be able to fund improvements through the county council’s community match scheme.
