A climate change minister has reiterated his belief that reducing speed limits in Wales will benefit the country as the Senedd prepares to discuss a petition against 20mph plans which drew more than 20,000 signatures.

Reducing speed will not only save lives but will help build stronger, safer communities, Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters has said, three months before the introduction of the default 20mph speed limit.

Described as the ‘biggest step-change in community safety in a generation’, most streets in Wales that currently have a 30mph speed limit will switch to 20mph on Sunday, 17 September.

The plans have met opposition however with a petition calling for the rollout of 20mph roads to be scrapped gaining 21,920 signatures and was closed early so the matter could be discussed.

A debate on the petition is due to take place at the Senedd this Wednesday, 28 June.

Lee Waters MS, who has responsibility for transport, and is a former director of sustainable transport group, Sustrans Cymru, said: “We’re now just three months away from the biggest step-change in community safety we have seen in Wales for a generation.

“In Wales we do things differently, we look after each other and trust the science.

“Evidence shows that a vehicle travelling at 30mph will still be travelling at 24mph in the time it would take a car travelling 20mph to stop.

“Reducing speed not only saves lives; it will help build stronger, safer communities - better places to live our lives.”

First Minister Mark Drakeford backed the legislation, saying: “Our streets will be quieter, reducing the scourge of noise pollution, and slower speeds also boosts the confidence of people to cycle and walk around their local areas and for children to play outdoors.

“Evidence from around the world is clear – reducing speed limits reduces collisions and saves lives.

“I am confident if we all work together, we can make the necessary changes that will benefit us now and in the future.”

The Welsh Government claims that 20mph default speed limit could save £92m a year and save up to 100 lives and 20,000 casualties in the next decade.

Joshua James, Public Affairs Manager, Living Streets Cymru said:“Introducing 20mph as the default speed on our streets will improve the places where we live, work and go to school – and most importantly, it will save lives.

“At Living Streets, we want everyone in our communities to enjoy the benefits of walking and cycling – now and for many years to come. Research shows that the majority of people in Wales support 20mph, and we are pleased to be working with the Welsh Government to ensure that our streets and pavements are safe and accessible for everyone."

Dr Sarah Jones, Consultant in Environmental Public Health for Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales strongly supports 20mph legislation, which will transform the places where people live, work and travel. The evidence is clear that reducing traffic speeds has multiple health and wellbeing benefits. It improves road safety, reduces noise pollution and over time will help to tackle air pollution. The safer environment that slower traffic speeds bring will also enable more people to actively travel, for example walking and cycling to work and school.

“Active travel offers such a wide range of benefits across society, boosting physical and mental health, and reducing the demand on our health service of treating many preventable illnesses.”

Support for the plans has not been universal however, with Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport Natasha Asghar MS saying: “I have been – and continue to be – inundated with letters, calls and emails from furious local people across Wales and this petition only further highlights the strength of feeling out there about Labour’s plan to grind Wales to a halt – and that’s why I’ve signed it myself.

“It seems that with default 20mph speed limits, the road-building ban and a rumoured congestion charge, the anti-car, anti-worker, anti-growth agenda of Labour will only get worse.

“Public opinion has not been greatly in favour of this change, with countless people across Wales feeling they were not able to have a proper say in this decision and reports have cast doubt over how many lives it would actually save.”

The petition against the plans, which will be discussed on Wednesday, was closed early after ‘receiving too many signatures’.

The petition read: "This decision is not representative of the broader public opinion and as such, it is not democratic to implement the changes. An alteration to road laws on this scale should be subject to much more extensive polling or possibly as part of a Welsh referendum on the matter.

"The use of speed bumps and 20mph zones in built-up areas and near schools is a generally accepted practice for the safety of children and adults. The widening of these measures could lead to an increase in 'road rage' incidents and currently appears to be nothing more than a revenue stream for people to pay fines when they are caught speeding (when they are travelling at a safe speed).

"I am yet to see an opinion supporting the changes, I have asked multiple people locally and read the comments left by many people online. It was the negative response to the changes that prompted the creation of this petition. The new speed changes will disproportionately affect the commute times of people travelling by road for work, especially in areas where most roads are currently 30mph and have no bypass roads with higher speed limits."