Labour backs plans for 20mph speed limits across ALL new housing developments in latest attack on motorists

Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am - sign up to our new Morning Mail newsletter for FREE See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 17:41 EDT, 28 August 2026 | Updated: 17:44 EDT, 28 August 2026 Labour has backed plans for 20mph speed limits across new housing developments in its latest attack on motorists.In a move set to further enrage drivers, ministers have endorsed quango proposals to introduce 20mph or lower speed limits, encourage car sharing and make roads narrower on new housing estates.In Homes England's Building for a Healthy Life guidance, backed by the Department of Health and Social Care, authors recommend '20 miles per hour (or lower) design speeds, supported by street geometry, traffic calming and formal 20 miles per hour designations'.Housing developers are urged to keep road corners to a maximum of three metres wide at junctions and side streets to 'slow turning traffic'.The guidance also calls for unallocated on-street car parking, which 'helps discourage pavement parking', and for 'car clubs' – short-term car rental services – which can 'help to reduce private car ownership and make more efficient use of land'.It also calls for more 'cycle friendly streets', with pedestrian and cycle priority at junctions and side streets.Endorsing the report, Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy, England's deputy chief medical officer, said the guidance 'serves as a useful toolkit so that healthy choices, such as walking, wheeling and cycling, are accessible and embedded into everyday life for all'.But Brian Gregory, of the Alliance of British Drivers, said: 'Wide area 20mph limits aren't really about road safety at all. They're about forcing people out of their cars. They also increase emissions, due to the stop–start driving they engender.' Labour has backed guidance recommending 20mph speed limits or lower on new housing developments. Andy Burnham is pictured on a visit to Northern Ireland Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy (pictured), England’s deputy chief medical officer, said the guidance would help make walking, cycling and other healthy forms of transport easier and more accessible in everyday lifeHe added: 'They extend emergency vehicle response times to an extent that lives lost from this source alone may well outweigh any theoretical casualty reductions.'They are an all–round bad idea proposed by intellectually challenged, dogma–driven people, and do not address the primary real-world casualty causation issues.'It comes as Labour's rollout of 20mph zones has sparked a surge in the number of drivers caught speeding in them, with figures soaring by 500 per cent since last year.And this week, Birmingham City Council vowed to make it England's first 20mph city by lowering its speed limits across all non-A class roads.A Government spokesman said: 'This Government's approach is to ensure people have a genuine choice of reliable, affordable, accessible and convenient transport.'We are absolutely on the side of drivers and committed to tackling the poor state of our local roads. That is why we have confirmed a record investment of £7.3 billion for local highways maintenance over the next four years.'This is bearing fruit with thousands of potholes being filled, and some councils reporting a more than 200 per cent leap in repairs.'