Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Rural Angus residents promised speed cut plea will not be bumped far down the road

A decision on reducing the 60mph limit at Balwyllo on the A935 will rest on the outcome of an Angus-wide speed strategy review.

Angus Council says Balwyllo does not meet the criteria for a speed limit reduction. Image: Paul Reid
Angus Council says Balwyllo does not meet the criteria for a speed limit reduction. Image: Paul Reid

Locals living beside a busy Angus road must wait to learn if a plea for a speed cut outside their homes will be answered.

In December, Balwyllo residents saw their request for a 30mph limit on a stretch of the A935 Montrose to Brechin road deferred.

And on Tuesday, local farmer Leask Mackie repeated the campaign message to communities committee members.

Councillors offered their sympathy to people living in the cottages after a spate of accidents there.

But they said Balwyllo shouldn’t be treated as a one-off case during a long-overdue update of a district-wide speed strategy.

It could bring in changes alongside Scotland-wide consideration of a drop from 60mph to 50mph on single carriageway roads.

Angus roads officials say there is no need for a speed cut at Balwyllo.

A survey showed the average speed of passing traffic was 53mph.

But Mr Mackie said the statistics do not capture the reality for people living there.

There is a football pitch beside the cottages and the turn-off to Bridge of Dun railway station.

Mr Mackie said there are also seven field entrances within around 500 metres. At peak harvest season those might be used by tractors and trailers every 15 minutes over a 14-hour day.

It leads to drivers being caught out by vehicles slowing down or turning.

“There are close shaves daily, blasting of horns and the screeching of brakes,” he said.

Angus speed strategy group to meet soon

Council infrastructure director Graeme Dailly said a working group is due to meet within weeks to consider the speed strategy update.

“The difficulty we’ve got (with this) is we’ll be taking ad hoc decisions, leading to inconsistencies,” he said.

“From the drivers’ perspective, it’s not helpful.”

But the director gave an assurance officers would talk to locals about what might be done to improve safety at the ‘hail and ride’ bus stop there.

It sits opposite Balwyllo Farm Cottages which has only a grass verge.

However, the committee heard there are around 800 similar bus stops across Angus.

Balwyllo Farm Cottage speed cut campaign.
A football pitch and bus stop sit opposite Balwyllo Farm Cottages on the A935. Image: Google

Montrose councillor Kenny Braes said: “I am very sympathetic to the people who live around Balwyllo and have this very fast piece of road going past their doors.

“I’ve been selected to sit on this group looking at the whole area.

“I don’t think there’s any danger of this being kicked into the long grass and forgotten about.”

Committee convener Mark McDonald said: “It’s clear our 2008 policy needs to be looked at.

“Speed limits are very much on the agenda.”

Conversation