I had heard that, but then thought it wasn't actually the case.
It's been done on a local council basis here. Ours had something they called the "safer villages scheme" and dropped the villages that had been 30 down to 20. There was a bit of reconsideration in that whereas the whole of the A702 went to 20 as it went through this village, they reverted a short section at each end to 30. I don't see the point, myself, it just makes it confusing, and it's not a long section altogether. But I noticed that 40 mph villages have remained at 40. Mountain Cross could actually do with being 30, if not 20.
Turned out pretty well, as the places that are 20 are places where people are walking and crossing the road and coming out of their houses, and most people seem to me to be observing it. (I have seen a handful who very definitely weren't!) Carlops in particular has been transformed. "That bloody road" as people referred to it is a lot more liveable-with when cars are only doing 20. And it's only half a mile.
I don't think Lanarkshire or Midlothian have done it though, or maybe it's because Dolphinton and Silverburn have always been 40 limits. So if you're coming north on the A702 you're on 40 through Dolphinton, then 30 as you enter West Linton, then within a few 100 yards that drops to 20, then up to 30 again as you get to the end of the village, then back to 60 till Carlops, which is 20. But Nine Mile Burn has no limit (the houses are mostly off the road), then Silverburn is 40. My impression is that it's the LA, because Carlops and West Linton are in Peeblesshire while the other villages are not. Silverburn really should be 20 like Carlops.
There is an issue with the way the car has been allowed to claim ownership of roads that used to be shared with pedestrians, horses, bicycles and so on. Carlops is an old settlement that was built when what is now the A702 was a cart track, and people could come and go within the village without risking being mown down, and could hold a church service without being deafened by roaring engines and clashing HGV gears. The principle that the stronger should give way to the weaker is a good one, but somehow motorists have got the impression that the roads are theirs and other road users should get out of their way. I'm generally in favour of these limits, so long as the application is reasonably sensible. Motorists waving to pedestrians to cross in front of them is becoming more common within the limits, and I think it's a good thing.
