DETAILS of the proposed first 20mph zones have been drawn up by North Yorkshire County Council.

In the north of the county 15 requests for the new limit have been lodged with the council since it agreed to the move six months ago.

Officials have examined the claims of the proposed zones and drawn up a list ranking them in order of priority.

The authority has set aside £66,000 to introduce the 20mph limits using signs only, with the lower speed limit only considered practical in some areas if it is accompanied by traffic calming measures.

Under the council's criteria the signs are only considered to be effective if the majority of traffic already goes at less than 24mph, meaning only one of the 15 proposed locations is considered suitable, at Crosby Road in Northallerton.

But environment director Mike Moore said the limit could also be introduced on Grammar School Lane in Northallerton and at Topcliffe Road in Sowerby, where speeds were only slightly above the target figure.

He said: "It is my view that a 20mph speed limit by signing without any additional traffic calming measures could be effective at these locations and would therefore be appropriate.

"The remainder of the locations will require some traffic calming measures before a 20mph speed limit could be introduced."

The other proposed locations include Northallerton's High Street and Richmond's Market Place but Mr Moore said the additional costs involved meant they could not be considered until the rest of the county had been assessed.

He said once a county-wide programme of 20mph limits using only signs had been agreed, the authority could look at spending any remaining cash in areas where traffic calming measures were also required.

Consultations will be carried out with residents and businesses before the 20mph limits are introduced.