Council reveals details of roads returning to 30 mph speed limit

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

A city council has proposed reverting 16 roads from their current 20mph speed limit to 30, following a public consultation which attracted more than 3,500 responses.

City residents suggested 335 roads that should either be considered for a 30mph exemption or should be kept at 20mph.

But the vast majority of roads suggested for a review did not meet the Welsh Government’s strict criteria for exemptions.

The council’s cabinet members are expected to agree “in principle”, at a meeting later in January, to increase the speed limit on 16 stretches of road.

They are:

Caerphilly Road (part)
Bassaleg Road (part)
Bettws Lane (part)
Duffryn Drive
Duffryn Way
Frederick Street
George Street
Lighthouse Road (part)
Morgan Way
Royal Oak Hill (part)
Tredegar House Drive
Tregwilym Road (part)
Usk Road (part)
Wern Industrial Estate
West Nash Road (part)
Wharf Road

The Welsh Government changed the nation’s default speed limit to 20mph in September 2023, but that decision proved controversial.

Ken Skates

Changes at the top led to a policy change last year, with new transport secretary Ken Skates launching fresh public consultation on roads people wished to see revert to 30mph.

Newport City Council will now have to publish a Traffic Regulation Order for each of the 16 roads, inviting the public to have a further say on any changes.

The local authority was previously awarded £94,100 to cover the costs of this work.