SWINDON Council plans to cut the speed limit in Tadpole Lane from 50mph to 30mph to improve road safety ahead of a housing development on farmland in North Swindon.

Last year developer Crest Nicholson was granted permission for 1,695 homes on Tadpole Farm, north of Tadpole Lane, at Blunsdon St Andrew.

Now the council is proposing the new speed limit as part of the access strategy for the development. which requires traffic calming along Tadpiole Lane.

A 21-day consultation began on April 26 and, subject to any objection being received, the council hopes to confirm the order and implement the 30mph limit as soon as possible.

Paul Exell, the chairman of Oakhurst Residents’ Association, said: “Reducing the speed limit is a good idea, but a restriction without something in place to slow people down means in a lot of cases speed limits are arbitrary. Dropping speed limits to 30mph doesn’t mean people will automatically slow down.”

“Leaving the road open and as it is, particularly in the light of Tadpole Farm and Ridgeway Farm, and all the other traffic that’s going to potentially use Tadpole Lane there needs to be some concrete measures to try to mitigate the impact of that traffic.”

Coun Vera Tomlinson (Con, St Andrews) said: “To go down from 50mph to 30mph is a safety measure and it will be helpful.

“What else can be done, I’m not sure, but we will need to take a good look at that road to find out what more we can do to make it as safe as we possibly can.”

Coun Mark Dempsey, the deputy Labour group leader, who is also the chairman of St Andrew’s Ridge Residents’ Association, said: “I think it’s important to control the speed on Tadpole Lane and therefore reducing speed is a sensible idea.

“With the overall development the concern has been about the diversion of traffic to local roads.

“We are particularly concerned about it increasing traffic on Salzgitter Drive and Oakhurst Way and other roads. That’s something we still don’t think the council has resolved.”

A Swindon Council spokesman said: “The council is making the TRO because we are the only authority that can do it, but installation of a traffic-clamed 30mph limit was part of the planning conditions for the Tadpole Farm development.”

Objections to the order, quoting reference ZA/Tadpole Lane/30mph/2013, should be sent by May 16 to Gwillam Lloyd, Head of Highways and Transport Services, Wat Tyler House West, Beckhampton Street, Swindon, SN1 2JH.