TRANSPORT chiefs have been urged to press ahead with introducing 20mph zones in Blackburn with Darwen after an official advisory body said the changes could bring huge savings.

As part of new guidance issued to local authorities, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said implementing the zones could lead to benefits that would cover the whole cost of the project within the first year.

MORE TOP STORIES:

With savings then being made year-on-year, campaigners said this should be an easy decision for councils, and have pointed to improvements already made in the rest of Lancashire, Bristol and Oxford.

Labour-run Blackburn with Darwen Council has some 20mph zones, such as the Infirmary area, and is currently trialling a “sign only” area in Mill Hill.

But bosses have been accused of “dragging their feet” by Liberal Democrat leader David Foster, who has led political support for the Lancashire Telegraph’s Slower Speeds, Safer Children campaign, to persuade the council to bring in 20mph speed limits across all residential streets.

Councillor Foster said: “This is very positive guidance and excellent news for the campaign. For me the council’s scheme in Mill Hill is too modest, because it’s clear from other areas that there are huge benefits.”

NICE suggests that 20 mph zones, targeted at disadvantaged areas where children face the greatest risk, would encourage more residents to walk or cycle, thereby increasing people’s fitness and reducing health problems that require public cash.

It would also reduce road accidents, which drain public resources.

Maureen Bateson, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration, said: “We’ve had half of the results back from Mill Hill, and there’s been a small reduction in speeds, although average speeds actually went up in a couple of streets. We have brought in 20mph zones in targeted areas and we’re not dragging our feet. We’ll look at the full results which should be published in the summer.”

A national study published in November by insurance company Axa and the Road Safety Analysis Organisation found Blackburn with Darwen was the second worst area in the country for road accidents involving children near schools. A council spokesman questioned the reliability of the statistics.

After serious accidents involving children in Burnley and Accrington earlier this month, Lancashire’s transport boss John Fillis said the county council was looking at introducing average speed cameras and other traffic-calming measures to help enforce some of its 20mph zones.