People are “getting used to” the new default 20mph speed limit in Wales over a month since the rollout, according to a Welsh government minister.

Deputy minister for climate change, Lee Waters, made the comments after the policy faced significant backlash.

But Mr Waters said average speeds were down which showed people were “voting with their feet”.

A petition calling for the default limit in residential areas to be scrapped has become the most-signed on the Senedd’s website.

Elin Jones, the presiding officer of the Senedd, also known as the Welsh Parliament, said she and other members had received threatening messages over their stance on the policy.

The change in the law in Wales came into force on 17 September – a move the Welsh government says will save lives and make communities safer.

But the Welsh Conservatives, the largest of the Senedd’s opposition parties, has previously called it a “madcap policy”.

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Plaid Cymru have said the policy should be reviewed after seeing how it works in practice, despite being supportive of it in principle.

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Speaking in the Senedd on Wednesday, Mr Waters, who last month survived a motion of no confidence, acknowledged there would have to be a “tidying-up exercise” regarding which roads are set at 20mph.

Under the regulations, councils have the option to exempt roads from the default limit.

“We do think there are some examples, where, with the benefit of hindsight and experience, the wrong decision has been made,” he said.

“I’ve encouraged local authorities to think about how they can use their powers of discretion to make exceptions.”

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