Speed limit set for increase despite concerns

A proposal to increase the speed limit on a road has been endorsed despite concerns it would be "dangerous".

Durham County Council has unveiled plans to create a 40mph (64km/h) buffer zone at Delves Lane in Consett.

The current limit for the area is 30mph (48km/h), but the local authority intends to alter that with motorists then reducing their speed further along the road.

Two objectors warned increasing the speed would make it more dangerous for drivers and pedestrians, with one saying it was "ill-judged" and "misguided".

A council report said the move was being proposed "so that the 30mph speed limit can commence at a more credible location".

"The introduction of this 40mph buffer zone should emphasise the reduction to 30mph further down Delves Lane," it continued.

"It is anticipated that by introducing the buffer zone, vehicle speeds will reduce on the approach to the revised 30mph start point and therefore increase safety.

"This zone will help to increase the impact of the change in speed to 30mph before the residential area."

However, one objector said they believed the order was "ill-judged, misguided, ill-conceived and dangerous".

They said it had "the potential for more frequent and possibly more serious, even fatal, accidents to occur".

The safety of workers building a housing estate on Delves Lane was also put forward as a reason to reject the proposal.

Two crashes have been reported on the section of road in the past five years, but the council said they were not attributed to speed.

Its Highways Committee endorsed the proposal on Friday and a final decision will be made under delegated powers in due course, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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