Jesmond road closures hitting response times, police told council

The closures have proved controversial with many residents and businesses

A series of road closures on Tyneside will continue despite police detailing their concerns.

Some streets in the Jesmond area have been blocked as part of Newcastle City Council's Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) restrictions.

It has now been revealed Northumbria Police said the measures were impacting the time it takes officers to reach crime scenes.

The authority said the 18-month trial, which began in March, would make roads safer and less polluted.

The closures prevent drivers from using residential roads to cut between Osborne Road and Cradlewell.

But the installation of bollards has proved unpopular with many people who say it has created congestion, particularly along Osborne Road and Jesmond Road.

Correspondence uncovered through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from a resident showed police said the measures would be "likely to adversely impact our ability to provide effective policing".

It added the LTN "had increased the time taken to deploy to incidents" with particular concerns over the impact on urgent callouts.

'Go back to drawing board'

However, on Monday the council and police issued a joint statement backing the scheme.

The organisations said the purpose of the trial was to encourage more people to walk or cycle.

They added: "Last week the council released an interim report which showed the impact of the trial on streets within the area and surrounding roads.

"At this stage it is too early to fully understand the impact but we will work together to analyse the data with public safety a top priority."

Campaigner Jenny Benn, of the One Jesmond group, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the council should "go back to the drawing board".

"The FOI received clearly highlights the concerns the police and many Jesmond residents have," she said.

"Given the size of vehicles the fire and ambulance services use, we believe there is a significant risk to life by allowing the LTN to remain in its current format."

However, Tony Waterston, a resident of Burdon Terrace and supporter of the LTN, said it was "still early days".

Mr Waterston, a campaigner with the Space for Jesmond group, said more time was needed for people to get used to the changes.