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FRUSTRATED residents are close to winning their battle to get a speed limit changed.

Residents of Newfound have been campaigning for the B3400 Andover Road's speed limit to be reduced from 40mph to 30mph.

A six-week traffic regulation order has now been made for an 820-metre stretch of the road through Newfound by Hampshire County Council to gauge reaction to the change.

County chiefs will decide when to implement the pilot scheme, the outcome of which could decide whether a permanent 30mph speed limit is imposed.

A similar pilot reduction from 40mph to 30mph is to be instituted on various roads in the village of Newnham on the other side of Basingstoke.

In June 2006, The Gazette reported how Newfound householders got together to put stickers resembling 40mph signs on their waste bins to highlight their frustration with high traffic speeds and the lack of enforcement.

They also formed a pressure group called Newfound Traffic Action Group (NTAG) to get the limit changed. In the three years before the end of January 2008, four crashes occurred on the stretch, including one resulting in serious injuries.

Newfound resident Robin Muirhead, 62, who organised the stickers, said: "All the residents are delighted that something is finally being done.

"People race along this stretch of road and it makes it very dangerous for people who're pulling out in their cars during rush hour. We have to go into the road to slow traffic.

"If, and when, the limit is changed, I'll have to see about printing some new stickers with 30mph on them!"

Cecilia Morrison, a borough councillor for Oakley and North Waltham, which covers the parish of Newfound, said: "For many years the residents have tried to get the speed limit changed and it's fantastic they have been listened to."

8:35am Saturday 15th March 2008

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