A CAMPAIGN group is asking people to have their say on its fight to make 20mph the speed limit for towns and villages across Craven and the whole of North Yorkshire - even though it has been dismissed by the highways authority.

20s Plenty for North Yorkshire is working with the not-for-profit Crowd Wisdom Project in Harrogate inviting residents to take part in a survey and vote using Polis with a view to sharing the results with candidates across the county in the run up to the local elections in May, which will see members voted onto the new North Yorkshire Council.

Polis is an online system for analysing and understanding what large groups of people think about the issues that matter to them.

Those taking part in the survey can also add their own statement, or statements, for others to vote on. 20s Plenty says they want to see as many views as possible - whether for or against a default 20mph limit. A moderator will be on hand to make sure no 'unsuitable' statements are added.

20s Plenty, which has the support of ten parish councils in Craven, including Cononley, is planning on following the survey with a series of hustings events on Zoom where members of the public can put questions to potential candidates about 20mph speed limits and how to approach the highways authority.

Malcolm Margolis, from 20s Plenty for North Yorkshire, who has collaborated with Andrew Gray, a Harrogate lawyer behind the Crowd Wisdom Project, said: "I am delighted that 20s Plenty can use this this online engagement tool to explore our aim of making our communities better places to live, which 20mph limits have already brought to millions of people across the country.

"A variety of statements, for and against, have been inputted, and people can add their own, so it is a genuine consultation whose results can inform the democratic process."

In January, North Yorkshire county councillors unanimously dismissed calls for a 20mph default speed limit after the highways authority said it would focus spending its road safety funding on areas where it could make a bigger impact.

Its executive agreed a series of changes to the authority’s 20mph policy and agreement among all the leading councillors that a targeted approach to low speed zones be continued as a blanket approach could cost up to £12m to introduce, leading to a council tax hike.

People can take part in the survey at: https://polis.crowdwisdomproject.org/5ztfp7j6rb.