Witney to reduce speed limits 26 Jul 2022 A town-wide reduction in speed limits is the first of many more across the county

Witney has become the first town-wide location to reduce speed limits as a direct result of Oxfordshire County Council’s 20mph policy change and associated programme that was announced in February.

The County Council has approved the changes in Witney, which will see 20mph limits introduced on all residential roads and reductions in the speed limits on roads within the town and on neighbouring roads. This makes Witney the first town-wide location to take part in the County Council’s £8 million, three-year project to help towns and villages across the county to reduce their speed limits.

Eynsham is also involved in this project, as previously reported, and there are over 70 other locations that will also reduce their speed limits as part of this programme during the current financial year. The second year is already over-subscribed, says the County Council, but communities are still able to apply to for the third phase of delivery in 2024-25.

The Witney speed reduction programme shares our own ambitions in terms of increasing safety for all road users, encouraging active travel, reducing pollution and making residents feel safer on the roads and pavements. Cllr Liz Duncan, Mayor of Witney and chair of the committee that developed the scheme locally, said “we have received many requests from residents for the reduced speed limit and this whole-town approach will bring huge benefits.”

The measures were approved by the County Council at a meeting on 21 July and the changes are expected to be implemented later this year. Many of our residents may be familiar with driving in nearby Witney and are advised to look out for new signage to ensure no speed limits are broken.

We are still waiting for the final details of our own speed limits changes in Eynsham but we anticipate implementing the new arrangements later this year. We will share exact details on the website when we have them. If you’re interested in joining the seven existing trained volunteers in our local Community Speed Watch group, please contact tricia.crowley@eynsham-pc.gov.uk for more details.