Plaid Cymru councillors in Wrexham have submitted a number of key roads for exemption from the 20mph speed limit.

The move came following a consultation with local residents in their wards and more widely throughout the borough.

The original proposals to change all current 30mph speed limits to 20mph prior to the introduction of the new default speed limit, saw just nine roads exempted throughout the county borough, reports Nation Cymru,

Cllr Carrie Harper said: “We’re in favour of reducing speeds to 20mph on residential streets and outside schools, medical centres and care homes so Plaid Cymru in Wrecsam has no problem with the intention of the policy. However, we made it clear before the scheme was introduced that we believed key arterial routes in and around Wrexham should be among the exemptions.

“Wrexham Council has only obtained 10 exemptions to the 20mph in comparison with Swansea that has more than 150. After consulting with our nine councillors and with the wider public, we’ve received many calls for key arterial routes to be exempted and we support the council looking at those seven roads on the grounds that they would not compromise pedestrian safety.

“There are others proposed by the general public that we have put forward to officers as well, as it’s important that there is maximum engagement with residents from the council’s perspective.

“We’ll wait to hear back from the council on whether all or any of the proposals we’ve put forward are exempted.”

There are also additional roads that have been proposed for exemption by local residents.

Earlier this month, the leader of Wrexham council described the introduction of the new speed limit as “madness” and said that money spent on it could have been used to safeguard local services.