County council approves city £5 congestion charge

Oxfordshire County Council says it expects to raise £3.2m through the scheme, with funds ringfenced for transport improvements in the city

Plans to introduce a temporary congestion charge for Oxford have been approved.

Oxfordshire's County Council's cabinet has agreed to introduce a £5 daily charge for car drivers that pass one of six points, located on roads with high levels of congestion at a meeting earlier today.

Charging cameras and road signs still need to be installed and the back office systems are being finalised. The target is to have this in place by 10 November.

The local authority says it expects to raise £3.2m through the congestion charge scheme, with funds ringfenced for transport improvements in the city.

The cabinet member for transport Andrew Gant said the policy "doesn't cure everything but it does deliver very significant benefits"

The temporary charging points for the congestion zone will be introduced on Hythe Bridge Street, St Cross Road, St Clement's Street, Thames Street, Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way.

The scheme will apply to car drivers only and permits would be available for carers, traders, blue badge holders and those commuting to or living in a central area of the city.

The local authority said that was needed due to traffic issues caused by the long-term closure of Botley Road, which has in turn delayed the introduction of the authority's traffic filter scheme.

In recommending the plans, Andrew Gant, the cabinet member for transport, said the policy "doesn't cure everything but it does deliver very significant benefits", including the delivery of 159 electric buses already in use in Oxford and positive environmental impacts.

Hythe Bridge Street would be one of six charging points

But concerns were raised about the capacity of Oxford's park and ride options as well as the impact on businesses in the run up to Christmas.

This has led to of a pressure group, Open Roads for Oxford, confirming they will start a legal challenge against the congestion charge decision.

The group's chair, Paul Major, said "The Council are simply not listening to the very real and evidence-based concerns being raised, not only through their consultation, but also by people and groups who have raised their concerns at council meetings. This is simply not acceptable."

Managing director of Oxford Bus Company Luke Marion called the decision "great news for bus passengers", who include "those in the most deprived areas".

"It will deliver ... faster journeys and it will free up all the resource we've got that's currently standing still out in traffic jams out there," he said.

"That resource will be reinvested into the network, into additional journeys, new links in some cases and also extra frequency on existing routes, more hours of operation on existing routes to deliver faster and better journeys for the people who use the buses."