Decision made on popular Plymouth road speed limit after public consultation

Plymouth City Council have published the outcome of a consultation into proposed changes on the popular Embankment Road near the Laira area of Plymouth.

The council confirmed: “There are to be no changes to the speed limit along the A374 Embankment Road in Plymouth, following our recent statutory public consultation.”

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Last summer, the council proposed extending the existing 30mph limit, which begins and ends just north-east of Stanley Place, on the western section of Embankment Road to the Plymouth Amateur Rowing Club.

Plymouth City Council said proposals were “in response to a Coroner’s report on preventing future deaths, following a collision in 2023 where a driver sadly lost his life.”

The consultation ran from 27 August to 17 September and received 440 responses.

Of these, 402 people, around 91 per cent, objected to the change, while 38 people, around nine per cent, supported it.

According to the council, “Most of the objections were on the grounds that people felt the road is already safe when driving at 40mph and that extending the 30mph section would worsen congestion along this busy route.”

Concerns were also raised about the Lanhydrock Road junction, with the council saying that 115 respondents mentioned this junction, with suggestions including closing the right turn or installing traffic signals.

After reviewing the feedback, the council has decided to keep the current speed limit.

However, it will replace the existing fixed speed cameras with an average speed camera system.

The council said: “In response to the feedback received, it has been decided to keep the speed limit arrangements as they are but to replace the existing traditional speed cameras with an average speed camera system.”

Plymouth City Council added that the current cameras are due to be replaced and that average speed cameras “will be more effective at enforcing the limit along the whole 40mph section” and “will also help to ensure drivers do not speed when negotiating the Lanhydrock Road junction.”

The decision has now been formally signed and published, with Plymouth City Council saying the new cameras will be funded jointly by the council and the police through the Vision Zero South West partnership and are expected to be installed in the autumn.

Local reaction has been mixed, one local resident said the move felt like “just another way of raising revenue,” while another questioned why money was being spent on cameras instead of road repairs.

Other locals welcomed the decision, saying average speed cameras are “much better” and help to catch speeding drivers, while another said it was a “sensible decision” that targets those breaking the law.