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Caerphilly County Borough Council has decided which roads will not be lowered to the new default 20mph speed limit.

Citing road safety, the Welsh Government is changing the law on September 17 by cutting the speed limits on many residential roads from 30mph to 20mph.

Generally speaking, all roads in Wales which are currently 30mph and have street lights at regular intervals will be affected, but local authorities have the powers to make some roads exempt from the law change – if those roads meet strict government rules.

In Caerphilly, nearly 50 stretches of road were proposed for exemption, usually because of low pedestrian use or because there were no schools or hospitals nearby.

Most of those exemptions will go ahead as planned, but council officers have u-turned on four proposals after ward councillors and members of the public objected.

In Blackwood, the approaches to the roundabout where Highfields Way meets Bryn Road will be cut to 20mph, but concerns raised over the rest of Highfields Way – which locals called an “entirely residential area” where drivers “rarely abide by the current speed limit” – were dismissed.

In Maesycwmmer, the limit on the A472 outside Shappelles dance school will be cut to 20mph because of “significant traffic flows and concerns regarding visibility for pedestrians and cyclists” on the adjoining A469.

In Trethomas, a proposed 30mph “buffer zone” on the A468 near Clos Pantglas will be shortened slightly after residents raised concerns about the safety of children who play at a nearby park.

In Ystrad Mynach, the council agreed to make a stretch of the A472 Caerphilly Road around Tredomen Roundabout 20mph after objections from Gelligaer Community Council and from several residents, including one who called the road “dangerous” at the entrance to Brynmynach. Another said turning onto the A472 from there was “a real challenge” with fast-moving traffic in both directions.

No other exemptions were overturned, but the council recommended bringing in “additional speed measures”, such as extra signage, on several other roads across the county borough which will remain at 30mph.

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday July 26, council leader Sean Morgan said the switch to 20mph was “something I am certainly very much in favour of”, adding that it would “improve the quality of life” and give pedestrians and cyclists “a bit more safety”.

Meanwhile, the council will also bring in new 40mph speed limits on four stretches of road: the A469 between Bargoed and Brithdir, the A4048 north of Hollybush, the B4254 between Gelligaer and Nelson, and the A472 between Nelson and Tredomen.

The roads staying at 30mph

Caerphilly County Borough Council has approved unamended exemptions for these 30mph roads, meaning they will not be lowered to 20mph, listed in ward order:

• Angel Way Link Road from Commercial Street, Aberbargoed to Morrisons traffic signals Aberbargoed and Bargoed
• Angel Way Link Road between Aberbargoed roundabout and Britannia roundabout
  Aberbargoed and Bargoed 
• A4048 Argoed
  Argoed
• A4048 Hollybush
  Argoed
• A468 Newport Road, Trethomas near the junction with Ridgeway
  Bedwas and Trethomas/Machen and Rudry
• B4251 High Street from the Chartist Bridge roundabout to a point north of the access road to St Margaret’s Church
  Blackwood
• B4254 Southern Cross Valley Link (between Libanus traffic Signals and the Penmaen Road Roundabout (including the B4251 Penmaen Road approach)
  Blackwood/Penmaen/Pontllanfraith
• A4049 from south of Gellihaf Road junction to a point south of Fairview signals
  Cefn Fforest and Pengam
• A4049 Pengam Road from Britannia roundabout to south of Britannia Terrace
  Cefn Fforest and Pengam
• B4591 Risca Road from the A467 to the junction with High Street
  Crosskeys
• B4251 Kendon Road from a point east of Ty Brachty Terrace playground to its junction with Woodview Terrace Crumlin
• B4251 Kendon Road from east of Main Street junction to the A467
  Crumlin
• A467 from the junction with Crumlin Road to a point south of the fuel station
  Crumlin
• A472 Hafodyrynys Road from the A467 junction to a point east of the newly demolished properties
  Crumlin
• A472 Hafodyrynys Road from west of the Swffryd junction to a point east of the former fuel station
  Crumlin
• Common road between the cattle grid at the northern end of Pentwyn Village to the cattle grid south of Fochriw
  Darran Valley
• Coed y Brain Road from Coed-y-Brain roundabout for approx. 250 metres in a northerly direction
  Llanbradach
• A468 Newport Road and Wesley Hill, Machen from a point approximately 150m west of the Ffwrwm Road junction to the existing 30mph signs to the west of the village
  Machen and Rudry
• A472 from Ystrad Mynach Roundabout to east of Gellideg Heights
  Maesycwmmer
• A4049 from the Bryn Road Roundabout to a point east of the new housing development
  Maesycwmmer/Pontllanfraith
• Carn y Tyla Terrace, Abertysswg from south-east of IDS School access road to a point west of the primary phase access road
  Moriah and Pontlottyn
• A469 Merchant Street between access to Capital Valley Ind Est and Heol Evan Wynne
  Moriah and Pontlottyn
• Fochriw Road between Brynhyfryd, Pontlottyn and Heoly-Bryn, Fochriw
  Moriah and Pontlottyn/Darran Valley 
• A472 Mafon Road west of the Railway Inn public house to the Nelson roundabout
  Nelson
• A4049 between A469 junction and the Colliers Row junction
  New Tredegar
• A4049 White Rose Way between the junction with St David’s Park and the southern end of the village
  New Tredegar
• Hendredenny Drive from St Cenydd Road to a point east of Chester Court
  Penyrheol
• B4591 Pontymister between the Mill Street Roundabout and the A467 Roundabout (including the A467 Roundabout)
  Risca West
• A469 New Road, Pengam between Angel Way traffic signals and north of the Aldi junction in Tir y Berth
  St Cattwg
• A469 New Road, Tir y Berth from south of William Street to southern end of village
  St Cattwg/Hengoed
• B4254 between Glyn-Gaer Road and Castle Hill, Gelligaer
  St Cattwg
• B4254 Church Road, Gelligaer and Gelligaer Road between the junction with Aneurin Bevan Avenue and west of its junction with Penywrlod
  St Cattwg
• B4254 Gelligaer Road from its junction with Llancaiach Fawr to the county boundary
  St Cattwg
• Merthyr Road between Llechryd and the Prince of Wales public house
  Twyn Carno
• B4257 High Street Rhymney between Llechryd and approx. 100m north of Ael y Bryn Community Centre
  Twyn Carno
• Lansbury Park Distributor Road from a point approx. 100m south-east of Bedwas Bridge Roundabout to north of the junction with Pen y Cae
  Van
• Rudry Road from its junction with Lansbury Park Distributor Road to east of its junction with Rudry Close
  Van
• Van Road from the roundabout at the junction with Lansbury Park Distributor Road to its junction with Cefn Carnau Lane
  Van
• B4251 Ynysddu from the northern end of the village to the northern end of Cwmfelinfach
  Ynysddu
• B4251 Wattsville from Full Moon roundabout to the North Blackvein Ind Est entrance
  Ynysddu
• Penallta Link Road from Tredomen roundabout to north of Penallta House access road
  Ystrad Mynach
• Northern end of Penallta Link Road and Penallta Road to Pen y Bryn Terrace
  Ystrad Mynach