A new 50mph speed limit has come into force on the A31 in Farnham between the Weydon Lane traffic lights and the Hampshire county boundary.

Surrey County Council says it has reduced the existing national speed limit on this stretch with a new 50mph limit after three men were killed in a horror crash near the Weydon Lane junction in July 2022.

A number of other serious collisions and near-misses have been recorded at the junction in recent years.

The new speed limit came into force on Saturday, July 22, in both directions of the A31, after a period of public consultation.

The county council says the new reduced speed limit was supported by Surrey Police and local elected members.

New signposts have been installed on the A31 and surrounding junctions.

A Surrey County Council spokesman said: "“The A31 speed limit reduction scheme was subject to public consultation which ended in March 2023.

“The scheme was conceived following analysis by Surrey County Council's Road Safety engineers who highlighted safety concerns due to collisions and high vehicle speeds within the derestricted sections of A31 Farnham by-pass and A31 Alton Road.

"It was noted that there had been a fatal collision in the vicinity of the footbridge, and there are a number of central reservation gaps for right turning vehicles and some crossing points for people walking between public rights of way.

“A speed limit assessment was carried out following the processes set out in Surrey County Council’s Policy Setting Local Speed Limits. Consequently a scheme to reduce the speed limit from derestricted (70 mph for cars), to 50 mph was developed.

“This was supported by Surrey Police and local elected members. The new lower 50 mph speed limit has been installed to promote improved road safety and can be enforced by Surrey Police.”