THOUSANDS of pounds of taxpayers money looks set to be spent halving the speed limit on a no-through road in a remote farming village, despite a study revealing average speeds are already less than the proposed 30mph limit.

Leading North Yorkshire County Council officers and councillors are set to approve launching a Traffic Regulation Order and installing the speed limit signs and lines in the historic North York Moors village of Cold Kirby, which was administered by the Order of Knights Templar in medieval times.

Some residents and the North York Moors National Park Authority have raised concerns the signs would have a detrimental impact on the village near Sutton Bank, which is within a conservation area.

A park authority spokesman said the introduction of several signs would “erode this natural rural character by introducing visual clutter into an area which is totally void of similar structures and as such would be harmful”.

Highlighting several objections from residents but no comments in support of the scheme, an officers’ report states the £2,000 cost of the scheme and historic and visual impact outweighed the “dubious impact on speeds within the village”. One resident wrote the “proposals are unnecessary, out of keeping and pointless”.

The report states a speed survey in the scenic village featured on the Cleveland Way identified average speeds of 29.9mph and 28.7mph.

The authority’s acting Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Bryn Griffiths said while county council always considers an area’s accident record before approving road safety works, the officers’ report did not mention any accidents in the village.

He said: “Speed limits outside some schools and other critical areas need bringing in, but they say they have no money. It is a bit infuriating when somebody’s going to spend thousands of pounds bringing in a 30mph limit in a quiet village unless there is an accident record.”

A council spokesman said some residents had raised concerns over the speed of vehicles travelling through the village.

He added: “Presently the national speed limit applies through the village. It is the government policy that a 30mph speed limit should be the norm in villages.

“The village is primarily residential in nature and officers consider that a 30mph speed limit would reduce the dominance of the motor vehicle and send the message that due consideration should be given to the amenity of residents and non-vehicular users of the village street.”