A campaign to lower speed limits to 40mph on the roads weaving through the Forest of Dean is gaining momentum amid ongoing concerns about road deaths and wildlife casualties. Councillors and local safety groups—including representatives from county, district, parish, and town councils, as well as emergency services and highways officials—are calling for urgent action to stop the continuing “bloody carnage.”
For more than a decade, there have been persistent calls to introduce a 40mph speed limit in these wooded parts of the Forest of Dean. This push comes as road fatalities among people persist, and dozens of wild animals have been killed on local roads in just the past two months.
Speed is widely regarded as a key factor contributing to these accidents. Although a reduction to 50mph on Speech House Road is currently being implemented, the road safety group believes this is insufficient, as fatal collisions have occurred at that speed.
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County Councillor Beki Hoyland (Green Party, Blakeney and Bream), chair of the Forest of Dean road safety group, has spearheaded the campaign to establish a 40mph limit across the district’s wooded areas. Despite strong community support and ample evidence backing the change, progress has been hindered by reluctance from police and highways authorities.
“When I was elected in May 2021, I was already aware of the longstanding campaign to reduce speeds in the Forest’s wooded zones,” Cllr Hoyland said. “Lowering the speed limit would protect vehicle occupants—our killed and seriously injured figures are alarming—and encourage safer use by cyclists and walkers.
“Forestry England reports that in the past two months alone, 12 wild boar and 15 deer have been killed on these roads. Many more animals likely suffer unseen injuries and die unreported.
“While the plan to install crash barriers and reduce the Speech House Road limit to 50mph represents a step forward, it doesn’t go far enough. Police and highways staff agree a 40mph limit would better prevent fatal accidents happening at 50mph. However, the police have stated they cannot enforce the lower limit unless road engineering measures that make drivers feel the road is slower are implemented—a costly and intrusive proposition.
“Other regions with free-roaming wildlife, such as the New Forest and Dartmoor, have successfully implemented safer speed limits. It’s time the Forest of Dean follows suit.”
Former road safety group chairman and current Cinderford Town Council chair Graham Morgan echoed these concerns. He cited a 2011 scrutiny committee at Gloucestershire County Council that supported such reductions.
“We’ve been campaigning for years. Places like Cannock Chase, Dartmoor, and the New Forest had these speed reductions back in the 1990s,” he said. “Now it’s 2026—why can’t Gloucestershire secure safer limits for the Forest of Dean?
“Driving too fast puts lives at risk. Boar and deer dart out unexpectedly, and the only choices are to swerve dangerously or crash into trees.
“Junctions like Cannop and Mireystock need traffic lights. There have been countless fatal crashes there. Practical solutions exist that would dramatically reduce accidents.
“The speed limit change for the whole Forest is long overdue. Since February 1, 2026, 12 wild boar and 15 deer have died on our roads. That’s a bloody carnage—anyone speeding is gambling with their life.”
Gloucestershire Constabulary affirmed its commitment to road safety, emphasizing that speeding remains one of the “fatal four” causes of deaths and injuries on county roads, alongside mobile phone use, failure to wear seat belts, and drink or drug driving.
The county council was approached for comment.