Council Scraps Castletown 20mph Plans Due to Lack of Community Support

Westmorland and Furness Council is to scrap plans to introduce a 20mph limits in Castletown after a recent public consultation on proposals to implement the speed limits that included the councils has said 1011 properties received individual notification of the consultation with a total of 120 responses received.

This indicates a 12% response rate.

Those responses to the council proposal for the 20mph in Castletown had 46 In support of the proposal along with 5 more in support of the proposal, with suggested amendments.

But the council received 59 against the proposal.

The council said “Due to a lack of support demonstrated by respondents, officers recommend that this proposal is not progressed to statutory consultation and advertisement”.

Jeff Thomson, a former town councillor for the Penrith West ward covering Castletown who wrote and submitted an application to Westmorland and Furness council for a 20mph speed restriction for Castletown said

"This result evidences Westmorland and Furness Council's total failure to engage with it's local communitues. The council's consultation event was a few hours one weekday afternoon at Penrith library. The council failed to hold it's Castletown consultation in Castletown, as requested.

"This decision, and the council's refusal to improve Castletown roads 7.5ton access only weight restriction signage, shows road safety in Castletown is being ignored. It is not a priority for our councils or councillors. Now, demand the area's councils' controlling Lib Dem councillors, both unitary and town, hold councillor ward surgeries to justify the positions they have taken....failing to support 20mph and refusal to improve road safety signage. We want to know 'why'," Thomson says he plans to stand as an indepedent for the area in the May 2027 council elections, claiming "The needs of local communitues are being ignored while Lib Dem controlled local councils continue with their costly vanity projects, from Voreda House to new tourism signage,"

The final decision on scrapping the Castletown 20mph plans will be made by members of the Westmorland and Furness Eden locality board at a meeting at Voreda House on Wednesday evening.