Reducing the speed limit along New Hedges by-pass may be difficult to achieve a local county councillor has conceded.

Following concerns raised, Pembrokeshire County Council’s highways department was asked to look at the possibility of reducing the speed limit along the by-pass from 50 to 40 mph, with the county councillor for the ward of St. Mary Out Liberty Community Council (New Hedges) Clr. Jon Preston raising the matter towards the end of last year.

The road has seen a new layout introduced of late, with work taking place on introducing the new Active Travel Policy scheme, thanks to funding from a £1.2 million grant from the Welsh Government.

The grant has been used to develop new traffic-free paths, improve existing routes and create better connections between networks in areas such as New Hedges and across the county.

In a report to the village’s Community Council this month, Clr. Preston gave an update on matters: “Following my request for a review of the current speed limit on the by-pass I have been advised that reducing the limit to 40mph may be difficult to justify and achieve,” he said.

“It is also likely to exasperate the issue of low-speed limit observation being ignored. In terms of the environment, lay-out and purpose of the by-pass it would be difficult to present a robust case for a speed reduction.

“From the perspective of highways engineers , it should be noted that between the roundabout and the southern access to the village of New Hedges there is 800m of straight carriageway with clear visibility. Therefore, a reduction of the current speed limit would be very difficult to justify.

“Highways officers are also mindful that a 40 mph limit on this type of road could have the unintended consequence of a reduction of motorists observing 40mph speed limits where they are justified.

“This could lead to an increase in hazardous driving by encouraging overtaking by those choosing not to observe a low-speed limit on a clear stretch of road.”

Clr. Preston also reported that in response to his report regarding ‘near misses’ occurring when motorists join the by-pass, the Highways department have understood his concerns, and have advised that assuming there is adequate visibility available, near miss collisions are most likely to be the result of those not observing the current 50 mph limit and therefore a 40 mph is unlikely to change the behaviour of these drivers.

“However, following analysis of speed surveys where peaks in driving of excessive speeds are identified PCC will share this data with local traffic Police,” he continued.

“This then brings me to enforcement, which is a matter for the Police. Policing in Wales is currently not devolved to Welsh Government which may present its own challenges in Dyfed-Powys Police directing resources and funding to deal with issues such as speeding.

“An increase in enforcement is something many councillors regularly request in their wards; however, an increase may not be provided due to an apparent lack of resources.

“One way to increase resources locally would lead to an increase the council tax precept for the Police. Increases in council tax are, understandably, not received well so it remains an issue which is open to debate.

“I have tried in the past to encourage residents who wish to address the problem of speeding to enrol as Community Speed Watch Volunteers.

“This scheme has proved to be effective in other areas where the Police train volunteers to record motorists speeding on handheld devices. The data is collected which the Police then follow up with the motorist. Unfortunately, no one has yet come forward to carry out this work.

“When the speed survey data is available to me, I will arrange a meeting with the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss our options regarding enforcement action on those who endanger the public with reckless driving on our county’s roads,” added Clr. Preston.