A BILL giving parish and town councils the power to hold local referendums to alter speed limits has been successfully introduced in Parliament by North Cornwall MP Scott Mann.

Conservative Mr Mann said that since taking office in May he has met numerous constituents, parish councils, and schools, and noticed the clear need for empowerment to set speed limits themselves to make their roads safer. These include the communities of Stratton, Werrington, St Teath and St Kew, which he mentioned in his speech.

Mr Mann introduced the Speed Limits on Roads (Devolved Powers) Bill through a ten-minute rule motion after Prime Minister’s Questions last week.

In his speech in the Commons, Mr Mann said he wanted to empower local communities in order to make their roads safer for motorists and pedestrians, particularly children, who face hazardous walks to school due to fast moving, high volume traffic at peak hours.

He told MPs: “We can’t have people resorting to driving as an option when they only live a few hundred yards away."

He said if a majority wanted their local speed limit changed, then they could help shape their community by putting an X in a box on a ballot paper.

“Ultimately I believe this Bill will empower people and help them address issues that directly affect them on the roads.”

In order to save costs and time, referendums would be held alongside national and local elections, he added. A proposition would be put to the local electorate asking if they want to change the current speed limit of a specific road or area to a newly proposed speed limit.

If the electorate voted in favour of the proposed speed limit on the ballot paper, then the local authority must begin proceedings to implement it.

Mr Mann said figures present a ‘staggering’ contrast. According to data published for 2012 by the House of Commons Library, there were nearly 196,000 reported casualties on the roads of Great Britain, including 1,754 fatalities and 23,000 serious casualties.

On 30mph roads, there were 582 fatal accidents, whereas on 20mph roads there were nine. Two thirds of accidents happened in a 30mph speed limit, whereas only 1.5% were on 20mph roads.