Police will enforce 20mph zones after confusion

New 20mph speed limits in Oxfordshire will be enforced by police after it had previously been suggested they did not have the resources to do so.

The enforceability of the county council's £8m scheme had been questioned by Thames Valley Police throughout consultations into the proposals.

But the council's highways chief Andrew Gant confirmed to BBC Radio Oxford this position had now changed.

Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Barber said earlier comments from the force had been made on "technical grounds".

Mr Gant said police had "started out by objecting and essentially saying that it was a matter for the county council and wouldn't be enforced - that has changed".

Thames Valley Police previously told the council there should be "no expectation [they] would be able to provide regular enforcement if a speed limit is set too low".

However, Mr Barber said it had "always been the case" that officers would enforce the new limits.

"What's really important is we focus on saving lives on our roads - any death on our roads in our area is is one too many," he said.

More than 200 requests to reduce speed limits to 20mph in towns and villages have been approved by the council since the scheme was first introduced in 2022.

Mr Barber also pointed out the £8m plan provided no money for police to enforce the measures.

"Much of the police resource will inevitably be focused on those areas that are most dangerous where... enforcement can save the most lives - and that does tend to be our faster roads and dangerous junctions.

"That doesn't mean that the police won't and can't enforce in those (20mph) areas."

Mr Gant added that managing the new limits was about "behaviour change".

"It's about getting used to the new normal over time, and that does happen," he said.

The comments come as much of Banbury, the county's second largest town, is set to become a 20mph zone.

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