Update: Following a Welsh Government announcement every council in Wales was asked to collect residents’ feedback on the 20mph limits. This feedback is currently being used to identify locations where residents believe a return to 30mph is warranted.

We received 1,496 individual comments, of which 32% were supportive, 8% were neutral and 60% were not supportive. These responses were related to 143 individual Monmouthshire County Council managed roads throughout the county.

To ensure informed decision-making, highway authorities adhere to official speed limit setting guidance. The most relevant document, updated on July 15th, 2024, is titled “Setting 30mph speed limits on restricted roads: guidance for highway authorities” and can be accessed here. This resource provides a framework for Welsh highway authorities (acting as traffic authorities for speed limit regulation) to assess the suitability of raising speed limits to 30mph on restricted and existing 20mph roads, while considering local factors and circumstances.

Our analysis of resident feedback has allowed us to identify several locations where a return to the 30mph speed limit may be appropriate. These routes are currently being reassessed against the updated 30mph exception guidance, with a strong emphasis on maintaining road safety for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

Monmouthshire County Council was part of the initial Welsh Government pilot projects with Abergavenny and the Severnside area included as one of the eight national projects.  As such, a significant amount of learning was established before the national rollout, and amendments were made before this latest review.

It is important to note that this is not the end of the process and that there are a number of steps which need to be followed over the next few months. There will be further opportunities for you to have your say, and we will ensure that you are aware of these.

It is also important to note that we cannot act on any comments we have received that relate to the policy generally (whether in support or against), as these are matters for the Welsh Government.  Additionally, any responses relating to a Trunk Road were not considered, as these are not the responsibility of Monmouthshire County Council.

Further information on which roads are Trunk Roads can be found here.

The updated Welsh Government 20mph Speed Limits FAQ page can be found here.

Next steps

From the responses received, we have identified several routes with valid reasoning for reverting the speed limit to 30mph. These routes will be reevaluated based on the recently published updated 30mph exception guidance. During reassessment, the authority must ensure that any proposed speed limit increase will not negatively impact road safety.

Once we have completed our review, we will publish the results on our website. Please note that we cannot provide individual feedback on every comment we have received.

If the revised guidance suggests that a street/road identified through feedback is suitable for a 30mph speed limit, we will explain this when we publish the review results

Streets/roads where 30mph would not be suitable under the revised guidance will remain at the default speed limit of 20mph.

For any street/road where the revised guidance suggests a 30mph speed limit could be suitable, we will produce a traffic regulation order (TRO), which is a legal process we must follow if we are to alter the speed limit.

Every TRO will be subject to a public consultation, where residents can comment. We will publish details of any changes on our website.

Following the TRO consultations, final decisions will be made on any changes as part of the council’s normal decision-making processes.

Further updates will be provided once we have completed our review.