Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:31 pm on 12 July 2022.
On reading the report, I saw that initially 80 per cent of people were in favour of 20 mph, but last year's consultation indicated that there were mixed results with 47 per cent in favour then. Desktop exceptions became an issue when delivered in reality, following the pilots conducted in Buckley in Flintshire, and officers were not permitted to do local exceptions to remove key arterial routes, as they did not fit the Welsh Government template. I understand there needs to be the national guidance for consistency, but council officers need to have permitted flexibility for local decision making, and I hope, listening to the discussions, that as they are the highway authority that will happen and will override. So, I'm asking the Minister if, following the pilot, whether any changes have been made to the exceptions criteria template that will allow councils to make the local decision rather than the Welsh Government, so that contentious arterial roads like Liverpool Road in Buckley can be made back up to 30 mph. Thank you.