Twenty Limit is Plenty

For many years now residents of Furzehill, part of the Parish of Holt, have seen the volume of traffic through the village increasing. In particular, there is a sense that the increase in traffic has worsened since the Cranborne Road housing developments and the other housing developments around Wimborne, where people are now using village back roads to try to avoid the congestion within Wimborne and A31 bottlenecks. The Parish Council Highways Working Group has received numerous complaints, notifications of incidents and letters of concern from residents over a number of years including requests for a 20mph limit to be considered.

This questionnaire is to gain the level of support from residents’ for the Parish Council to submit a proposal to Dorset Council requesting a change of the speed limit for Furzehill to 20mph in the areas identified by the blue arrows in the map below. Strong community feedback and support for the proposal is an essential element of any application. It is hoped that the introduction of a well signposted and marked 20 mph limit through the village will influence driver behaviour to travel at a consistently reduced level within the limit recognising there is a high likelihood of pedestrians or cyclists on the road.

The Survey Process

Our questionnaire will be available until 27th November 2026. The survey can be completed here: Survey fill out form or alternatively, paper copies of the survey are available in Furzehill Stores or can be posted to residents by contacting the Parish Clerk, Lisa Goodwin on 07887 932665 or by contacting Furzehill Cllr Sue Barnes on 07831 447551. Members of the Parish’s Highways Working Group will analyse your responses and prepare a proposal for the December 16th Parish Council meeting. We also will be publishing the findings of the survey on the Holt Parish Council website and also on Holt Together. Further details on Dorset Councils 20mph Policy can be viewed at:

20mph Limits and Zones - Dorset Council 

What happens after this? Subject to the findings of the survey being supportive of the proposal, a 20mph Scheme Application would be submitted to Dorset Councils Road Safety Team for evaluation with full DfT guidance considered throughout the assessment. Community feedback and support for the proposal is an essential element of any application, together with other assessment criteria which need to be considered by the Council. We will also need to include data on collision history for the last 5 years, Damage only and Near Miss Reports, Traffic Speed Data from commissioned traffic surveys and Community Speed Watch data.

 

How would a 20mph be implemented?

Signs would be installed in line with current traffic and road safety guidance. If an area is changing to 20mph local residents would be informed in advance. Signs would mark the entrance and exits of a 20mph area where the speed limit changes. The Council may also require the Parish to consider installing a Speed Indicator Device through the village to help support compliance.

Privacy Statement

Any data provided will only be used to inform this Parish Council Survey to enable summary information to be collated for any application for a change in speed limit to Dorset Council. We will not share or sell data with/to any third party.

Thank you for completing this survey.

On behalf of the Highways Working Group Holt Parish Council