A PROPOSAL to cut the speed limit on the A10 between Ely and Cambridge has been scrapped in favour of a more targeted approach, the county council has announced.

Plans to limit a 15-mile stretch of the busy road to 50mph from the current 60mph proved unpopular with residents and councillors alike and the council revealed this week that it had moved to drop the plans following a consultation.

In their place, the council has targeted two shorter stretches of the road which could be subject to a reduced limit, either side of the junction at Little Thetford and from the A14 interchange at Milton, near Cambridge, to north of the Slap Up Junction at Waterbeach.

Cllr Bill Hunt, a fierce opponent of the plans to introduce a blanket restriction, said: “Reducing the speed limit on the entire stretch was unnecessary, it would have involved a lot of extra cost and bureaucracy so I am delighted that the council has taken on board my thoughts.

“We are now drilling down into the fine detail of where we will have the 50mph limit and hopefully something will be ready in the next couple of months.”

Cllr Hunt added that the current 40mph limit that controls entry and exit to the roundabout with the A1123 at Stretham would remain in place.

Appeals to change the speed limit of the road gathered momentum in July last year when 15-year-old Witchford Village College student Jennifer To was knocked down while attempting to cross the busy road to catch her school bus.

A county council spokesman said: “Following extensive discussions with local representatives and councillors in the area it is now being proposed that the speed limit on two stretches of the A10 should be reduced to 50mph.

“Those proposals will now be advertised to give local people an opportunity to comment or object.”