CONCLUSION: from WSCC Highways- Refused June 2025.

Our ref: Traffic Regulation Order application – Shillinglee Road – Northchapel - 622445

Thank you for your patience with your TRO application requesting a speed limit change on Shillinglee Road and Plaistow Road.

I appreciate your engagement with the community around enhancing road safety. Please be advised that I have now progressed to a Detailed Assessment after receiving speed data.

I can now confirm after thorough assessment in line with West Sussex County Council’s Speed Limit Policy and the Traffic Regulation Order application assessment process, your application has failed the Detailed Assessment due to insufficient scoring in the SPACE assessment.

The Traffic Regulation Order Detailed SPACE Assessment has a set criteria scored on Safety, People, Access, Cost and Environment. With a lack of evidenced safety issue at this location, it is unlikely that this application can be prioritised at this time. In the ‘Safety’ section of the Detailed Assessment we look at Road Traffic Collision Data, to determine if the TRO proposal could have a positive impact on road safety, however, there is no Road Traffic Collision Data at this location that relates to a speed issue. Whilst I can appreciate the images you provided of collisions nearby, there is no evidence provided that these are speed related. The collision history over the past 5 year period does not demonstrate a pattern of collisions that would warrant an intervention such as a speed limit reduction.

The ‘People’ section of the Traffic Regulation Order Detailed Assessment requires us to investigate if the issue is a community wide problem. We have searched our records to determine whether any other reports from members of the public relating to this issue have been received, of which no reports were received over the last 3 year period that relate to a speeding issue.

With this said, the Speed Data assessment demonstrates that whilst the existing section of road national speed limit, the average vehicle speeds and 85th percentile of speeds are well below this. I understand that there will always be some motorists that go above the speed limit, however it would therefore seem the case that speeding is a perception in certain areas rather than the majority of road users speeding. A national speed limit section of road allows motorists to alter their speed in alignment with the prevailing road conditions, of which the speed data demonstrates vehicles are travelling at speeds to suit the road, also shown by the fact there has been no speed related collisions. This means that signing a speed limit of 30mph may increase certain speeds in areas, and encourage a number of motorists to speed up.

Whilst we acknowledge the importance of road safety and safer road systems, ultimately it would appear that the current data and road conditions do not support a change in speed limit. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for applying through the Traffic Regulation Order process and suggest that any unlawful driving behaviour or general driving concerns are reported directly to Sussex Police (via Operation Crackdown:Operation Crackdown) and the existing speed limit be enforced accordingly.

I apologise that this may not be the outcome you were hoping for but I hope you can appreciate our stance at this stage.

Kind regards,

Olly King

Traffic Engineer

Western Area (Arun & Chichester)

Highways, Transport and Planning

Place services

West Sussex County Council

Location:Western Area Office, Drayton Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 2AJ

Contact:Internal: 01243 642105 |Mobile:07395855000| E-mail:Oliver.King@WestSussex.gov.uk

In April the Parish Council submitted a Traffic Regulation Order proposal to WSCC Highways to reduce the speed limit entering the main settlement area of Shillinglee to 30mph

WSCC have responded as set out below. The process is expected to take 12 months.

Our ref: Traffic Regulation Order application – Shillinglee Road – Northchapel - 622445

Thank you for your Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) application for Shillinglee Road, Northchapel. Please quote ref number 622445 in any future correspondence.

I can now confirm that your TRO application has found its way to myself as the Area Traffic Engineer for the Chichester District.

Please note that the TRO process is a democratic process. This means that any proposal may be implemented in full, in part or declined by the Assistant Director due to objections or representations at the formal consultation stage. Please be aware that funding a proposal does not guarantee that it will be implemented any sooner, if at all.

Successful applications will be included on a programme, where further feasibility and design work may take place. A proposal will then be subject to a three-week statutory advertisement or ‘formal public consultation’. In addition to a notice being placed in the local paper, site notices may also be erected at the location of the proposal. Once the formal consultation period is over, a final decision on the TRO may be required by the County Council’s Assistant Director, Highways Transport and Planning. If the TRO is approved, arrangements are made for the necessary signs and road markings to be provided. A final notice will also be advertised in a local paper stating when the TRO will come into effect. In total, it may take approximately 12 months for a TRO application to proceed to implementation.

I have now carried out an Initial Assessment on your application, and before I progress to a Detailed Assessment, I will be requesting speed data to carry out a speed data assessment.

The speed data assessment will help us to determine if the 30mph speed limit proposal aligns with the West Sussex County Council Speed Limit Policy.

Once I have received and assessed speed data, I will update you accordingly.

Kind regards,

Olly King

Traffic Engineer

Western Area (Arun & Chichester)

Highways, Transport and Planning

Place services

West Sussex County Council