Frequently Asked Questions
1. 1. Where can I find out more about Welsh Government’s 20mph legislation and why was it introduced across Wales?
Please visit Welsh Government’s website https://www.gov.wales/20mph-speed-limits
2. Did all roads in Flintshire change to 20mph on 17 September?
On 17 September 2023, all restricted roads changed to 20mph.
3. What is a restricted road?
Restricted roads are typically located within residential areas and before 17 September 2023 had a speed limit of 30mph and a system of street lighting (defined as three or more street lighting columns within 183m).
4. If a road has street lights but the speed limit is 40mph or 50mph should it have changed to 20mph?
No. Only restricted 30mph roads changed to 20mph on 17 September. Roads with a speed limit higher than 30mph where there are street lights have retained their existing speed limit.
5. What criteria did the Council follow when introducing Welsh Government’s new 20mph legislation?
All councils across Wales had a legal duty to introduce 20mph on all restricted roads on 17 September 2023 using Welsh Government’s criteria which can be found here.
6. Welsh Government has published ‘exceptions criteria’ which detail how highway authorities can set exceptions to 20mph speed limits on restricted roads in Wales.
What ‘exceptions’ has Flintshire County Council introduced?
Only restricted roads that meet the Welsh Government ‘exceptions criteria’ can be considered for an exception.
In November 2022, Welsh Government published ‘exceptions criteria’ which detail how highway authorities can set exceptions to 20mph speed limits on restricted roads in Wales.
To apply an ‘exception’ to a restricted road, local councils must have a clear and reasoned case for doing so, which demonstrates that strong evidence exists that retaining a higher speed limit would be safe. Not all existing 30mph roads will meet this test, although it is likely that stretches along some roads will.
The Council has undertaken a review of roads in Flintshire involving an impartial assessment in accordance with Welsh Government’s 20mph place criteria and exceptions criteria.
As part of this assessment process, local elected members were asked to identify roads in their wards which met Welsh Governments criteria.
Following an impartial assessment of responses received during a formal public consultation held over the summer, some sections of the following roads will revert to 30mph
- A549 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa
- A549 Chester Road / Dirty Mile - Little Mountain, Buckley
- B5127 Liverpool Road, Buckley
- B5128 Church Road, Buckley
- Drury Lane, Buckley
- St Davids Park, Ewloe
- A541 Denbigh Road, Mold
- A5104 Warren Bank Interchange, Broughton
- A5026 Holway Road, Holywell
- B5121 Greenfield Road, Holywell
- B5129 Kelsterton Road, Kelsterton
- B5129 Queensferry Roundabout
The revised speed limits at the locations listed above will not come into force until all appropriate signage has been erected on site. This work will be undertaken over the coming weeks.
The following sections of roads will remain at 20mph:
- White Farm Road, Buckley
- A541 Hendre
Local communities will be able to put forward further roads for consideration for an exception via the Council’s website. More information about how residents can do this will be made available in the autumn.
A comprehensive speed limit review of all roads in Flintshire will take place using relevant Welsh Government guidance. This is a significant piece of work and will be carried out over the next five years.
7. What is the process for analysing responses to Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) objections/comments?
Local authorities are responsible for making sure a fair, impartial and objective process is followed when considering objections and/or comments to a TRO.
The procedures for handling objections and comments are set out in the Council’s Constitution and scheme of delegation and are controlled by legal services.
More information on the formal process for creating a TRO from beginning to end can be found here.
8. Are Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) determined by the number of responses you receive during the statutory consultation period?
The statutory consultation process does not come down to the number of objections or comments received during the process. It is the content of the comments received that will determine whether a TRO is implemented or not.
For example, 10 objections received from residents stating that they simply do not like the proposal would not be classified as a valid cause to object, whereas one objection providing evidence that the proposal does not meet the criteria, or evidence that the proposal could have a negative impact on individuals and/or the wider public, could potentially be classified as a valid objection.
9. If my road is considered to be an exception, when will 30mph be reinstated?
Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO’s) could not be legally implemented until after the 17 September 2023 following the introduction of the new legislation.
This meant that all 30mph restricted roads in Flintshire (including those which may be considered exceptions) defaulted to 20mph on 17 September.
The legal statutory process has now been completed and the roads listed below will revert to 30mph and will come into force once all appropriate signage has been erected on site. This work will be undertaken over the coming weeks.
- A549 Mold Road, Mynydd Isa
- A549 Chester Road / Dirty Mile - Little Mountain, Buckley
- B5127 Liverpool Road, Buckley
- B5128 Church Road, Buckley
- Drury Lane, Buckley
- St Davids Park, Ewloe
- A541 Denbigh Road, Mold
- A5104 Warren Bank Interchange, Broughton
- A5026 Holway Road, Holywell
- B5121 Greenfield Road, Holywell
- B5129 Kelsterton Road, Kelsterton
- B5129 Queensferry Roundabout
10. How can I put forward a road for consideration for an exception?
Local communities will be able to put forward further roads for consideration for an exception via the Council’s website. More information about how residents can do this will be made available in the autumn.
11. What is the deadline for exceptions requests?
Technically, there is no deadline for the submission of exception requests.
Here in Flintshire we have undertaken a review of roads involving an impartial assessment in accordance with Welsh Government’s 20mph place criteria and exceptions criteria.
As part of this assessment process, local elected members were asked to identify roads in their wards which met Welsh Government’s criteria.
Of the 14 suggested roads 12 will now revert to 30mph. The full list of roads can be seen here
Local communities will be able to put forward further roads for consideration for an exception via the Council’s website. More information about how residents can do this will be made available in the autumn.
12. I’ve responded to a Traffic Regulation Order consultation and I’ve not yet heard the outcome, how long will it take?
To create a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) a formal statutory process must be followed. TROs are written legal documents to which objections, or comments of support, must be received in writing to the address specified, on or before the specified closing date.
Following the closing date objections or comments of support are then subject to a formal statutory process, which dependent upon the number of responses received and/or their complexity, can time some time to complete.
The formal process for the creation of a TRO from beginning to end comprises:
- A Notice of Proposal to be placed in the local press for a statutory minimum period of 21 days for which formal objections may be lodged against the proposals. A Notice of Proposal is also placed on site, and an information pack is available online and in the relevant Connects Centre, for public inspection.
- Any objections (or comments of support) that are received during this time will then be considered impartially by the Authority, for which a Delegation Report will be completed outlining the Authority’s decision as to whether to overrule of uphold individual objections received. This report must then pass through the required governance processes.
- A Final Order and Notice of Making is completed. A Notice of Making is placed on site, and an information pack is available online and in the relevant Connects Centre, for public inspection.
- The Order is sealed by the Legal Department.
- Within 14 days of the Order being sealed by FCC legal department a full written response will be provided to the Objectors or respondents in support of the Order.
- Following completion of the steps above, works will commence on site.
Whilst the Council has formally advertised roads that meet the exception criteria over the summer, the required Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO’s) cannot be legally implemented until after the 17 September 2023 following the introduction of the new legislation.
Until the statutory consultation process has been completed, it is not possible to say how many of the roads suggested will change to 30mph, but for those that do this means that on 17th September they will default to 20mph and will not be changed to 30mph until the Traffic Regulation Orders have been implemented.
How long it will take for the traffic regulation orders to be implemented will depend upon the number of responses received to the statutory consultation and the process of formal consideration and response.
13. Can the Council ignore Welsh Government’s 20mph legislation and keep roads at 30mph?
No. Local councils cannot legally disregard criteria when applying speed restrictions to local roads. All speed limits are assessed impartially based on specified national criteria.
14. Were all the signs changed ready for the implementation of 20mph at midnight on 17 September?
Flintshire had approximately 1,000 30mph signs that needed changing to 20mph on the 17 September. Teams worked through the night, Saturday into Sunday, however given the scale of work to be completed it was inevitable that some signs were not changed straight away or may have been missed.
New 20mph roundel signs are now accompanied by temporary “New 20mph Limit” signs that will be in position for 12 months.
15. What have you done with all the old 30mph signs?
30mph signs that have been taken down and are in good condition will be stored and used again in areas which do not meet Welsh Government’s 20mph criteria.
Signs that are damaged, faded or of no future use will be recycled as scrap.
16. You haven’t changed the 30mph sign in my road/street/village/town?
There are some stretches of road in Flintshire that have a 30mph speed limit, but do not have streetlights. In these areas the speed limit has been set through the production of a legal document called a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) and are known as ‘30mph By Order’.
This may have been done to improve road safety, or where a town or village has got bigger over time and now extends beyond the length of the original street lighting columns.
The full list of ‘30mph By Order’ roads can be found below:
- A section of Stryt Cae Rhedyn, Leeswood
- A section of Brynford Road, Pentre Halkyn
- A section of Gwernaffield Road, Gwernaffield
- A section of Bryntirion Road, Bagillt
- Sections of the A5104 Corwen road, Pontybodkin
- A section of Llanfynydd road, Llanfynydd
- A section of the A541 Mold Road, Caergwrle
- A section of Fagl Lane, Hope
- Sections of The Green, Sandy Lane and Main Road, Higher Kinnerton
- A section of road off the A548 Tyn-y-morfa
- Various roads in Rhes-y-Cae
Not all existing ‘30mph By Order’ stretches of road meet the criteria of Welsh Government’s new legislation, but where they do, as the current limit has been set by a legally binding TRO, the speed limit cannot change until a new 20mph TRO is produced, consulted upon and potentially implemented.
These Orders have recently been advertised and objections are currently being considered. The consultation documents can be viewed on the Council’s website.
17. The 30mph sign in my road/street/village/town was not changed and it’s not on the 30mph By Order list.
Given the scale of work that started at midnight on 17 September 2023, it is possible some 30mph signs, that should now be 20mph, were missed.
Before reporting a missed sign to the Council we would ask residents to first check the website to see if the road is listed as a ‘30mph By Order’.
If the road is not on the ‘30mph By Order’ list, please report it to customerservices@flintshire.gov.uk
There are some areas, such as Rhes-y-Cae, where various roads are covered by a wider ‘30mph By Order’ and these will require further assessment to determine the appropriate speed limit.
18. Should there be repeater signs to remind people they are in a 20mph area?
There are no carriageway roundels or 20mph repeater signs on restricted roads following the introduction of the new legislation in September 2023.
As with previous 30mph limits on restricted roads, repeater signs are not required given the presence of street lighting columns. There are new 20mph signs at each end of the speed restriction area where required. The streetlights along the length of road between these signs will be the reminder that you are in a 20mph area.
Work will now begin to remove these road markings and signs, including those provided as part of the 20mph Phase One Settlement Scheme in Buckley and the surrounding area. The removal of these road markings, either 20mph or 30mph, does not mean that speed restrictions in those areas have been removed, just that the County is getting ready for the Wales wide introduction of 20mph restrictions on 17 September.
19. What about illuminated flashing speed signs, will they change to flash 20mph?
Illuminated flashing 30mph roundels that were triggered when vehicles exceed 30mph are called vehicle-activated signs. Used as traffic calming devices, these have been implemented in many locations across Flintshire to reinforce speed limits. Most of these signs are manufactured to only display one maximum speed limit and so these were decommissioned before 17 September. Given that town / community councils have funded some of these signs, we intend to replace historical flashing 30mph roundels with programmable variable message signs, but this is likely to take place in 2024 where funding allows.
Welsh Government has not indicated whether future funding will be available to provide vehicle actuated speed signs at new locations, but such measures will continue be considered as part of local safety schemes.
20. Will there be 20mph signs around schools?
20mph advisory speed limit signs outside schools - those with a red “20” in the centre of a black circle - were removed over the summer. These advisory speed limits around schools have now been replaced by Welsh Government’s new statutory 20mph legislation.
20mph zone signs, with a 20 roundel and “PARTH ZONE” wording, have also been removed.
21. We have traffic calming features along my road to help keep traffic speeds down, will these be removed now that 20mph has been introduced?
Many local communities will have traffic calming measures, such as speed humps, yellow-backed speed limit signs and red carriageway patches, which were introduced using previous guidance. Physical traffic calming measures, such as chicanes, humps and cushions, are no longer required by legislation to self-enforce 20mph speed limits and will only be considered as part of future local safety schemes. Yellow-backed 30mph signs will have been replaced by 20mph signs without yellow backing boards and red patches will not be maintained or refreshed once worn.
Existing traffic calming measures will have been introduced in certain areas to improve road safety. The introduction of 20mph speed limits has not automatically removed the need for existing traffic calming schemes, however, as with all safety schemes, their effectiveness will be continually reviewed.
22. Will the Council consider requests for new traffic calming schemes now that 20mph has been introduced?
Physical traffic calming measures, such as chicanes, humps and cushions, are no longer required by legislation to self-enforce 20mph speed limits. The Council will consider future requests as part of local safety schemes, but as with the introduction of any safety scheme, their potential effectiveness will be fully assessed prior to any decisions being made to introduce them.
23. There are street lights along the road through my town/village, does that mean it has become 20mph?
Across the UK, the vast majority of 30mph speed limits are on ‘restricted roads’, and UK government legislation states that if a road has a system of street lighting, then it will be subject to a 30mph limit unless indicated otherwise. Welsh Government’s new legislation changed this ‘default’ limit to 20mph from 30mph.
Where a length of street lighting is missing on a 30mph road, for example, if a town or village has got bigger due to the development of new houses, then a legal document called a Traffic Regulation Order is produced and 30mph repeater signs are provided to indicate the speed limit along the unlit stretch of road.
In these instances, to meet Welsh Government’s legislation, the Council looked at where it could extend systems of street lighting to cover the full length of new 20mph areas. Where this happens previous 30mph Traffic Regulation Orders have been revoked.
There are some locations with no street lighting that have 30mph speed limits covered by Traffic Regulation Orders where new street lighting would not be appropriate or economically viable, such as Common land. In these cases, speed limit assessments will take place and new 20mph / 30mph Traffic Regulation Orders will be advertised.
24. Who has paid for the introduction of 20mph on restricted roads in Flintshire?
All previous and future costs associated with the implementation of 20mph across Wales will be met by Welsh Government by means of a grant to local councils.
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