RESIDENTS of a Peeblesshire village have held an open-air meeting to discuss speeding concerns.

There have been reports of vehicles breaking the speed limit through Skirling on the A72.

The Howes Brae stretch is seen as a “particular area of concern”, with a number of traffic calming measures suggested to the council.

David Mundell, Conservative MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, attended the open-air meeting.

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"It was a very constructive discussion with all involved putting forward positive suggestions,” he said.

"It was clear there was an appetite by some for a consistency of approach when it came to the speed limit, whatever that finally becomes, and that there were particular concerns at Howes Brae."

Some parts of the village are currently covered by Scottish Borders Council’s (SBC) 20mph trial.

The speed restrictions, introduced last October, are part of the local authority’s Spaces for People scheme.

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As part of the programme, the reduced limit has been introduced temporarily in more than 90 towns and villages in the region.

The findings of a consultation on the 20mph trial, which ended in June, will be reported later this year, detailing which parts of the scheme will be kept – if any.

According to Mr Mundell, a straw poll in the village showed that 46 per cent of participants wanted a blanket 30mph limit, while 33 per cent wanted just the 20mph restriction.

Twenty one per cent of those polled reportedly wanted to keep the mix of the two speed limits.

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Jason Hedley, SBC neighbourhood operations manager, and network and infrastructure manager Brian Young also attended the meeting.

According to Mr Mundell, the council officials outlined possible traffic calming options which could be considered but had to be balanced against available funding.

Suggestions included speed cameras, a chicane, traffic island, 'slow' written on the road, additional pavement or crossing lights which stopped and delayed vehicles exceeding the limit.

Mr Mundell added that, while resources were limited, he hoped the local authority would “prioritise” Skirling to minimise the risk of accidents.

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On the alleged speeding at Skirling, a Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said: "We will continue to work with the Skirling community and Police Scotland to determine what the most appropriate interventions are to reduce vehicle speeds.

"Any interventions will be introduced incrementally to determine what is most effective and appropriate.

"Funding is already secured to provide electronic flashing signs and once installed then measurements will be taken to determine effectiveness before any other measures are considered.

"Like all other settlements any road safety and traffic calming interventions are based on evidence-led need."