"Unnecessary blanket 20mph speed limits like this lead to frustration" says Banburyshire resident - Letters to the Editor

I was interested to read “The Department for Transport has made it clear that 20 mph speed limits should be considered on a road-by-road basis with local consultation rather than as blanket measures.” (Banbury Guardian p9, January 4).

Why then is there a 20mph speed limit on the A422 through Wroxton?

I totally agree with the speed limit in the rest of the village with the potential hazards of the school, more houses and pavements close to the road, parked cars etc but over 90 per cent of the A422 has wide verges, pavements set back or no houses close to the road. Visibility is good and there are no obvious hazards.

I would argue that the environmental benefits of a 20mph limit along this stretch of road is minimal if a gentle 30mph speed is maintained.

Unnecessary blanket speed limit measures like this just lead to frustration and a potential fast increase of speed once out of the area.

I would also like to know how many speed related accidents have there been in the last five years on the A422 in Wroxton?

This also should be considered when implementing new speed restrictions in any area.

M Taylor, North Newington

Council

I was concerned to read in the recent Banbury Guardian that a CDC Finance meeting was held behind closed doors barring the press and public from attending.

While I do not support any of the minority political groups in CDC my views concur with theirs on this issue when they protested against the meeting being held in secret. Where public finances are involved transparency should always be to the fore.

I suspect that in the coming months we will be drip fed reports of CDC’s dire financial state, much of which is I believe self induced through unwise investment.

When nationally high street shops were closing, why was it thought that buying Castle Quay for in excess of £60 million would be a good investment? It is now valued at a fraction of this and with the loss of many shop rents and rates the original loan will prove difficult to manage which may well impact on the services that can be provided.

The investment company must have been over the moon to offload Castle Quay and have ridden off into the sunset with their saddle bags overflowing with our cash.

Decades ago Bodicote House council offices were purposely built when Banbury had only a fraction of the present population. Bodicote House has easy access and plenty of parking, none of which applies to the forthcoming move to Castle Quay.

Will it mean even more employees working from home making contact with council departments even more difficult than at present? It is akin to selling off the family silver to pay off the debt!

It is rumoured that there is already a buyer lined up for Bodicote House but there should be more transparency with it first being advertised on the open market.

There is currently a social housing shortage in Banbury and I wonder if Bodicote House could be converted by CDC for this purpose as vast amounts are now being paid out for private rentals and static caravan sites where such use was never intended.

Whatever is proposed the local taxpayers should be given full transparency at all times.

Brian Cannon, Great Bourton

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