A PLAN to introduce a 20mph speed limit in a Worcester suburb has been raised with a police chief.

Councillors have put forward ideas for a 10mph reduction in the limit for parts of Warndon Villages.

Members of Warndon Parish Council aired their views about a 20 miles-per-hour zone to West Mercia Police Commissioner Bill Longmore at a recent meeting. The commissioner said he would support the parish council in improving road safety but it was up to them and other relevant authorities to decide whether the 20mph limit was appropriate.

“The idea of 20mph on the estate roads was mooted about six or seven years ago,” said parish councillor Ray Morris, who delivered a presentation on the subject to parish council members. “There were a number of concerns about people going too fast on the estate roads.”

He said the parish council put the idea to the police then but without success.

“Knowing one of the current police commissioner’s priorities is road safety, we invited him along,” added Coun Morris. “I think the commissioner recognised this is a unique area. There are 17 pockets of residential areas where there is only one way in or out. “We feel a 20mph area here would make people more aware and make the place safer for pedestrians and cyclists.”

Coun Morris said the 20mph idea would not apply to Warndon Villages’ five ‘feeder roads’ – Woodgreen Drive, Plantation Drive, Mill Wood Drive, Hastings Drive and Berkeley Way – which would remain at 30mph.

But he said the plan would have to go to public consultation, meaning a decision on whether the scheme could go ahead might be up to 18 months away.