Proposed by Cllr Landell Mills, seconded by Cllr Roz Smith

Liberal Democrat member motion

This Council welcomes the public discussions which are taking place in this city about the value of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) in encouraging walking and cycling, preventing rat-running, and decreasing air pollution, while also having the positive effect of opening up residential and shopping streets for local communities, supporting local businesses and boosting community ties. This ongoing discussion is informed by successful LTNs in Waltham Forest, Groeningen in the Netherlands and Ghent in Belgium.

This Council notes that Tranche 1* money received by the County Council was a fraction of that expected due in part to the short time scale and projects, including design of LTNs not being fully worked up. The County Council Tranche 2 bid is more ambitious with LTNs for the Florence Park, Church Cowley, Divinity Road, Jericho and Headington areas.

This Council therefore commits

1.        to help local residents’ groups fight for LTNs to be designed so as to get the main benefits but without imposing unreasonable, adverse consequences.

2.        to support further studies and consultation as required to develop LTNs.

3.        to agree to provide financial support to the capital cost as appropriate to the delivery of each LTN subject to the allocation of a budget by Council and/or Cabinet.

* Part of Dept of Transport Emergency active travel fund: local transport authority allocations

Cllr Landell Mills, seconded by Cllr Roz Smith proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note, and accepted the amendment proposed by Cllr Hayes and the amendment proposed by Cllr Wolff

After debate and on being put to the vote the motion as amended was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

This Council welcomes the public discussions which are taking place in this city about the value of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) in encouraging walking and cycling, preventing rat-running, and decreasing air pollution, while also having the positive effect of opening up residential and shopping streets for local communities, supporting local businesses and boosting community ties. This ongoing discussion is informed by successful LTNs in Waltham Forest, Groeningen in the Netherlands and Ghent in Belgium.

Council supports the efforts of Oxfordshire Liveable Streets (OLS) and the motion proposed by County Councillors John Sanders and Damian Haywood and passed unanimously by Oxfordshire County Council on 14 July 2020 to back Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and introduce them when and where feasible.

Nationwide there is a debate about LTNs. LTNs may create differences of views in a diverse city such as Oxford. In a democracy, we can all air our views and, through the pressing of points, deepening of understanding, and forging of consensus, we can ensure that LTNs are introduced in the right way in the right places. That way change can be lasting and widely supported.

This Council notes that Tranche 1* money received by the County Council was half of that expected due in part to the lack of ambition and because of:

·       The Department for Transport explicitly saying that bolder T1 proposals would win larger sums of funding, leading to the implication that less ambitious T1 proposals would win smaller sums of funding. Oxfordshire did not receive its entitlement because the schemes of the County Council were not sufficiently ambitious about meaningful change or reallocation of road space.

·       Short timescales for the preparation and submission of a bid, although many other local authorities were awarded a full allocation of funding, with some receiving even more (for example, Bucks and Central Bedfordshire receiving 112% of their funding allocation).

·       The rural focus of the County Council’s T1 bid when the Department for Transport sought to fund areas capable of making tangible changes. This requirement should have led the County Council to focus on the transport needs of urban areas such as Oxford City.

The County Council Tranche 2 bid is more ambitious with LTNs for the St Mary’s, St Clements, Divinity Road, Old Headington, New Headington, Quarry, Jericho and Walton Manor areas.

This Council therefore commits

1.     to encourage local residents’ groups and elected members in their efforts to engage communities in discussion about LTNs, so that they may be designed to get the main benefits without imposing unreasonable, adverse consequences. Local people know their streets better than anyone else and must be able to shape their communities. Consultation should precede the introduction of LTNs;

2.     to support further studies and consultation to develop LTNs as an evidence-based and democratic approach. The benefits of transportation changes should not be conferred upon one community at the expense of any other;

3.     to continue to encourage the County Council as transport authority to fund schemes including LTNs;

4.     to continue to encourage the County Council to submit funding requests to national Government to deliver LTNs and related transportation changes.

5.     to provide clear guidance to Councillors on the use of ward member CIL funds to support LTN scheme design and implementation.