A man concerned about speeding in his village has collected more than 150 signatures from his community, calling for action to stop someone being hurt.

David Bell said the speed limit of 30mph within Barnham Broom and 60mph outside the village were “not fit for purpose”.


Barnham Broom lies between Wymondham, Dereham and Norwich, and Mr Bell has collected 178 signatures from locals calling for reduced speed limits and improved road markings.

“Because we don’t have proper footpaths or street lighting, it can be quite dangerous to say the least," he said.

Mr Bell said a cyclist had recently been knocked off his bike at the village crossroads and was hospitalised.

He added: “I’m surprised that nobody’s actually been killed, touch wood.

“You get tankers coming through here, people with low loaders - it’s a village. It’s madness.

“All I want is to stop somebody from getting hurt and the village being ruined."

A Norfolk County Council (NCC) spokesperson said there were no immediate plans to lower the speed limits, but that some road markings had recently been replaced.

They added that NCC will meet with parish councils to discuss ways of mitigating the impact of the planned Western Link - which could include lower speed limits.

Local county councillor Margaret Dewsbury said: “Lots of the parishes between A11 and A47 are concerned about vehicles rat-running through their country lanes to avoid hold ups at Thickthorn or Longwater junctions and many people are saying that the traffic seems to be going much faster these days.

“This is a concern because there are increasing numbers of pedestrians, runners, dog walkers and cyclists also using these roads, many of which are winding, have blind bends and no footpaths.

“NCC is working with parishes to consider measures that could be used to influence drivers and make them slow down.

“We have a parish partnership grant by which parishes and Norfolk County Council each pays half towards traffic schemes, flashing signs, trods and so on etc to make roads safer.

“Applications for the grant have to be submitted by the beginning of December so this is a hot topic at the moment.”

A police spokesperson said: “Concerns regarding speeding in the village were raised with police in August.

“Since then officers have carried out an increased number of hi-visibility speed enforcement patrols with fixed penalty notices and warnings issued where appropriate.”