At a planning meeting on Monday 7th July, Ashby Town Council discussed the possibility of adding a 20mph speed limit on Ashby's Market Street and Wood Street to improve overall safety. 

The issue was raised by Councillor Doug Cooper, who mentioned that 20 years ago there had been discussions at the council on whether to make Market Street one-way or reduce the speed. 

The issue has been bought up once again following a recent incident, on the main route through town, with multiple councillors agreeing that something should be done before someone was seriously hurt. 

The suggestion was backed by multiple councillors, including Cllr Chris Smith, but the authority recognised it was not in their power to change the speed limit nor add speed cameras. They could, however, pressure the County Council to implement such changes. 

An interesting point was raised asking why there is a 20mph speed limit on Leicester Road because of the school but that the same was not the same on Nottingham Road. 

They also discussed that, although in the day-time Wood Street is often congested and it is hard to reach the 30mph speed limit, at night when the roads are quieter, there would have to be some way to enforce the 20mph speed limit if it was introduced. 

One of the options raised was an average speed cameras and rumble strips was also suggested but disagreed with because of unnecessary additional noise. 

Ashby Town Council do not have the power to implement the 20mph speed limit themselves but, after further discussion and enquiry, could request and apply pressure to the County Council. 

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