Norfolk villagers win fight for new 20mph speed limit

Villagers in Southrepps, near the north Norfolk coast, have long called for measures to make streets safer by slowing down motorists.

Roads which will be covered by the new limit or have sections included in the 20mph zone are High Street, Thorpe Road, Church Street, Chapel Street, Long Lane, Sandy Lane, Whitegate Road, Gimingham Road and Gables Avenue.

READ MORE: Norfolk drivers caught speeding on 20mph roads revealed

Chapel Street in Southrepps is one of the roads which will be in the 20mph zone (Image: Sonya Duncan)

Southrepps Parish Council and Liberal Democrat county councillor Tim Adams, whose Cromer division includes Southrepps, have been calling for the limit for a number of years.

Tim Adams (Image: NNDC)

Norfolk County Council has agreed to bring in the 20mph zone, with built-out kerbs and traffic calming features to slow down traffic.

The parish council and county council will pay for the physical changes through County Hall's parish partnerships fund.

The traffic regulation order will be paid for through the local member fund, money which Mr Adams has accessed.

READ MORE: Norfolk village 20mph zone has been unenforceable for years

He said: "This is very much welcomed by the parish council and the residents who have pushed for this for years now.

"This sort of project is a shared aspiration of many other villages to secure safety measures.

"But it has been very frustrating that it has taken this long. Work on the scheme started pre-Covid, and this proves why reform of the highways act and traffic regulation order process is needed.

Southrepps (Image: Sonya Duncan)

"It is too difficult, time consuming and costly to secure even basic schemes, and we have to search in all sorts of dark corners to get them funded. Whereas there is a pipeline of projects in Yarmouth and Norwich which we don't benefit from."

A date for the introduction of the 20mph limits and the start of the physical work has yet to be announced.