Victory on horizon for residents campaigning for speed limit decrease on 'dangerous' Chesterfield road

Victory is in sight for residents campaigning for change on a 'dangerous' Chesterfield road after councillors said they would be willing to drop the speed limit- as long as police are in agreement.
Campaigners on Matlock Road.Campaigners on Matlock Road.
Campaigners on Matlock Road.

Earlier this year, a campaign to have the speed limit dropped from 40mph to 30mph along Matlock Road was launched by residents who say they feel they are 'risking their lives' every time they leave their own driveways.

The road is an 'accident wait to happen due to 'high volumes of traffic' and 'drivers speeding round blind bends', claim campaigners.

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Initially, Derbyshire County Council said it had no plans to lower the 40mph speed limit as it was 'in line with Department for Transport criteria which looks at the road character, the environment, and collision rate'.

But a letter sent to Derbyshire County Council by Labour parliamentary candidate for Chesterfield Toby Perkins has prompted the authority to rethink its stance.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We’ve looked at this again and found that it might be possible to extend the 30mph limit further but we need to discuss this with the police in the first instance.”

Mr Perkins said: “This is great news and just shows what local people can achieve when they work together.

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"I had already spoken to Inspector Dave Nicholls at Derbyshire Constabulary who had expressed his support for traffic calming measures, and so I am very hopeful that the speed limit reduction will now come into force."