A Speed Limit At Last
2011 saw the introduction of a speed limit in Denton for the first time. Although there were a few residents opposed to creating any restriction on traffic through the village, largely on the grounds of more unsightly signage and possible lack of impact on speeds, the Parish Council had been calling on the highways authority, the county council, to create a 30 MPH limit in the centre of the village for many years.
The imlementation of Denton's new speed limit passed through several hoops as described below.
The Story
The County Council's Highways Department published the statutory notice for the 30 MPH speed limit proposed for the village in the EDP on Friday November 19th 2010. It is displayed below.
The council got the road names a bit muddled in their order – Chapel Lane instead of Chapel Hill etc. – but the area covered the centre of the village. It extended from just past Hillside (Mrs Hooker's house) on Trunch Hill to a point just past the new affordable housing on Norwich Road and included short stretches of Middle Road and Chapel Hill.
Consultation lasted until December 14th and some residents pressed for an extension to take the restricted area right down to the bottom of Trunch Hiil past the old school. A petition calling for this was sent to the County Council. This modification was considered at the January meeting of the Parish Council and given unanimous support.
The Highways department subsequently agreed to the change and the scheme was implemented during March on the revised boundaries.
However the saga was not yet be over as there were complaints about the way in which some of the restriction signs had been erected. They seemed to be set far too close together causing potential problems for farm traffic etc.
