Petition fails to secure removal of speed bumps from Alnwick estate

The speed bumps will not be removed from an Alnwick housing estate, despite a petition signed by more than 70 residents.
Allerburn Lea in Alnwick.Allerburn Lea in Alnwick.
Allerburn Lea in Alnwick.

In January, Northumberland County Council received a petition of 72 signatures from residents of Allerburn Lea requesting the removal of traffic-calming features.

The county council will only consider removing these features if a clear majority of residents are in favour, but that isn’t the case here, according to a report to last Thursday’s (March 21) meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council.

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The petition also claimed that the local authority has failed to follow the Department for Transport’s guidelines in that there is no clear evidence of speeding and there hasn’t been consideration of the risks or other types of traffic calming.

However, the report explains that the three different types of traffic-calming feature within the estate – speed cushions, speed humps and rumble strips – were all installed by the housing developer before the roads were adopted by the county council.

In 2017, when resurfacing took place at Allerburn Lea – which has 205 houses – the speed humps had to be taken out, so the council consulted with the residents about whether they wanted them back or not.

Only 37 responses were received, of which 17 stated the speed humps should not be put back, 18 said they should be put back and two did not state a preference.

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Therefore, the council has concluded that there is no majority in favour of removing the traffic-calming features.

Alnwick Town Council has also said that it is not in favour of their removal.

Ben O'Connell, Local Democracy Reporting Service