Four roads in picturesque tight-knit Kent village set for 20mph speed limits

A consultation on the 20mph speed limit proposals has been launched by Kent County Council.

Four roads in a beautiful village in Kent are set to have 20mph speed limits introduced. Members of the public are being invited to give their views on the proposals for Ightham, which is near Sevenoaks but falls within Tonbridge and Malling District.

Kent County Council has published what is called a Traffic Regulation Order which clearly sets out the proposals for each of the roads. The 24-day consultation opened on May 30 and ends at 12pm on Monday, June 23.

The roads set for the 20mph speed limit are: Cobs Close, Oldbury Close, Oldbury Lane and Spring Lane. With each of these roads, the speed limit would be for their entire length.

The council said the reason behind installing the restrictions in Ightham was three-fold: to keep pedestrians or those in traffic safe when they're using the road or any other road; to make it easier to use the route, whether for pedestrians or road users; and to improve the area through which the road runs.

The county council has not yet made a decision on whether or not to put in the 20mph speed limits in the village. Once it has received any consultation comments, the council will review the scheme and decide whether to go ahead or "abandon it".

The order gives some context to the council's efforts to reduce speeding, saying there had been an "increasing demand" for the introduction of 20mph schemes.

It says: "From April 1, 2013 Kent County Council become responsible for a number of Public Health functions. One of those was the health improvement for the population of Kent.

"In recent years the demand for the implementation of 20mph schemes had been increasing in response to both local and national campaigns, therefore Kent County Council are intending to implement 20mph Public Health Schemes in the following location, in Ightham, in Tonbridge and Malling."

The council's traffic orders site shows Oldbury Lane is 60mph, with Cobs Close leading off it. Spring Lane is also 60mph, with Oldbury Close leading off it.