Village road action group calls for safety measures

Philip Irwin 06/12/2023

3 minutes read

Road action group member Paul Bryant checks on the speed of a car as it approached ‘the narrows’.

SOMETIMES you feel a touch of sympathy for that much-criticised group – council officers.

Take the case of the village of Llysworney, which has been a traffic problem for years – mainly due to it being a short cut for HGVs heading to and from Llantwit Major – despite a very narrow section of road.

It meant that there were regular incidents in ‘the narrows’ as cars attempted to get through a gap between an artic and the hedge. Sometimes cars would flip over and bumps and scrapes were common. What’s more, there was no easy fix – until a new road was built from the A48 to bypass Llysworney.

**| Monday 27th November, and traffic is at a standstill after a collision.**

Junctions were tweaked to make it easier for HGVs to take the bypass and now the number of lorries travelling through the village has dropped markedly.

So, you have to imagine that when the council were contacted by members of the Llysworney Road Action Group, the reaction must have been: “What is it now?”

The answer to that is concerns from villagers that some cars are travelling too fast. It’s possible that the reduction of HGVs may be a factor in this but the action group says that the main factor is ‘the narrows’ and the layout of the village.

Peter Emery is the chairman of the action group and says that it is down to the “unique geography” of Llysworney. He told the Glamorgan Star: “The problem is that when motorists coming from the A48 enter the village, they round a bend and have a good visibility of the road and ‘the narrows’.

“Some instinctively speed up so they can get through the narrows before meeting traffic. The same thing happens with traffic coming in the other direction. Two cars racing for the same spot is a danger in itself but the other problem is that there are several side roads – not so visible – and any car pulling out is at risk.

“Similarly, pedestrians crossing the road are having to deal with cars travelling at higher speeds than through the average village.”

He added that the new 20mph speed limit has meant that ‘good’ drivers are travelling slower through the village. However, it has made no difference to the speeders.

Paul Bryant is another member of the action group and has been using a speed gun to monitor traffic speeds. He said: “We have been recording vehicle speeds for over a year now. Our most recent was in October, when we targeted three days a week at different times.

“An early morning session, 6.05am to 6.20am was the worst, with 85 vehicles passing through. They all exceeded the 20mph limit but even if you look at the old 30mph limit, 71 (84%) were over that. The three maximum speeds were 58, 50 and 49mph.

“Morning rush hour, 7.35am to 8.05am, had 64 vehicles, with 56% exceeding 30mph. Then, an afternoon test, 2.15pm to 2.45pm, was busier, with 105 vehicles passing through, but ‘only’ 31% going faster than 30mph. In both the morning and afternoon sessions, there were still cars travelling between 47mph and 41mph.”

Ironically, a few days after the Glamorgan Star spoke to the road action group, on Monday, 27th November, there was a collision at the narrows.

So, what does the action group want? Paul Bryant said: “The warning signs that flash up a speed would at least give drivers pause for thought. It might lead to a delay in the driver accelerating.”

Regular visits from Police speed monitoring vans would help, but the group has had no luck yet.

The group has contacted Vale MS Jane Hutt and Vale MP Alun Cairns, and also have the support of their Vale Council ward member, Cllr Christine Cave. However, despite a healthy pile of correspondence with the Vale Council, there has been no movement yet.

A Vale Council spokesperson said: “The Council is aware of the group’s feelings on this matter and carefully considers local opinion when it comes to road safety. In fact, we have implemented a 7.5-ton weight limit in Llysworney in response to residents’ concerns about HGV traffic in the village.

“Speed limits are set in accordance with Welsh Government legislation and guidance, including The Restricted Roads (20 mph Speed Limit) (Wales) Order passed by the Senedd in July 2022.

“The Council will monitor A Roads and B Roads which have reduced to 20mph and those that have been classed exception roads and remained at 30mph and carry out future reviews to ensure the speed limits are appropriate. These will take place after a suitable bedding in period and alongside police action to target those that speed.

“All reviews will need to be considered in line with revised Welsh Government guidance, which will be published in due course.”

By Philip Irwin – email:

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