A petition signed by residents was submitted to the Council requesting a 20mph zone for the High Street in Haversham, due to concerns over speeding through the village.

We have carried out speed surveys on the High Street which has revealed that the average speeds are above the acceptable level for a 20mph zone. 

Therefore, it is necessary that as part of the scheme, the Council will need to introduce a series of traffic calming features to reduce vehicle speeds to a compliant level.

You may view the document relating to this consultation below:

Haversham 20mph Speed Limit

This drawing that shows the extent of the 20mph zone and the proposed traffic calming features.

Once we have reviewed all the comments received during the informal consultation, we'll either proceed with the proposals in full or make adjustments that may require further consultation. We anticipate the scheme will go ahead in early 2025.

To help with the information consultation, we’ve put together some frequently asked questions based on feedback received from residents already on the proposals.

Q. Could the 20mph limit also include an additional area of the section between Old and New Haversham (by Broadacre) and a speed hump be included?

This could be considered but for safety reasons, we would recommend that any additional hump would need illuminating by streetlighting, (despite regulations permitting an unlit hum in a 20mph zone). The introduction of lighting would then create light intrusion in a rural setting, the scheme cost would escalate significantly and would delay delivering the scheme. Based on this, residents should consider if an additional hump is worthwhile. 

Instead, we consider that advance warning signage or a village ‘gateway’ sign treatment could achieve the same effect without a traffic calming hump or added lighting.

Q. Could the 40mph speed limit to Broadacre be reduced to 30mph?

We are not convinced that there is added value in doing this or that it would benefit many people. There are no properties at this section. 30mph speed limits are intended for areas where properties are next to the road and there is streetlighting so this area does not support a 30mph limit.

Q. Could chicanes be used instead of speed humps?

We did consider chicanes however the evidence from other areas where these are in use suggests they can increase the risk of accidents and speeds so humps could be much more effective and safer at this location.

We will consider where the humps are located as there are properties here and spacing will be done within the regulations. 

Q. What signage will go with a 20mph scheme?

Red triangular warning signs e.g., Humps for 200m would be the most appropriate for this scheme in this location. We’ll look at whether additional advance signage or road markings would be beneficial too so that drivers are alerted to the change in speed limit. This may be in the form of a village gateway sign saying ‘Please drive slowly through our village’ or similar. This would be something that could be considered later if there is local support.

Q. Will you paint 20mph on the road too?

Yes – as part of the scheme we’ll refresh road markings and add a 20mph roundel onto the surface within the speed limit area. These will be shown on the statutory consultation drawings once we publish them.

Q. There is a new development site proposed for this area, will there be consideration for speed humps here too?

There are already humps on either side of the access road, but we must abide to spacing regulations for measures, so they can’t both be located close to the new junction. We don’t believe that an additional measure here would be either beneficial or needed, but we are aware that the location of the hump at the proposed access point for the new development will need to be moved slightly. 

Q. Could you also put speed cameras up?

Camera enforcement of speeds remains the responsibility of the police, and the Council has no powers in this area.  However, if speeds remain high after the 20mph scheme is implemented, the police could be approached for camera enforcement. Realistically though, other higher priority sites would likely proceed before this location. 

Q. Won’t speed humps create lots of additional noise?

We understand that residents living nearby will be concerned about this, so we’ve looked carefully at the location of the humps to minimise the risk as much as possible. If residents remain concerned following the publication of the proposals, they can let us know.

Next steps

After the informal consultation, we'll review all the comments received and then will begin to prepare the statutory consultation documents, we expect to publish these for consultation in November 2024.

If we receive a positive number of comments in support of the scheme, we'll look to implement this in the new year subject to available budget.