Council plans to buy homes to stop bus gate scheme

Basford Bank sits on the border of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme

Ten homes exposed to high levels of air pollution could be bought by a local authority as part of a bid to scrap a controversial bus gate scheme.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council have been ordered by the government to cut illegally high nitrogen dioxide levels on Basford Bank, situated in between the two areas.

The councils were drawing up plans for a bus gate which would block most traffic heading into Newcastle-under-Lyme from a section of the A53 during the morning and evening rush hours.

Some businesses complained the scheme would hit their trade, while residents raised concerns that it would lead to increased "rat running" on side streets.

The councils have now been given the go-ahead to develop an alternative plan which would see the city council purchase 10 homes along the most polluted stretch of Basford Bank, on the Stoke-on-Trent side of the boundary.

This would ensure residents are no longer exposed to high levels of the gas, meaning the councils would be able to wait for natural compliance as cleaner vehicles replace more polluting ones.

Transport secretary Mark Harper has agreed for work on the bus gate to be paused while the alternative plans are drawn up.

A final decision set to be made later this year.

'Pragmatic solution'

The area’s former Conservative MP Aaron Bell, prior to announcing he would not be standing in the upcoming election, had been lobbying ministers on the issue.

He said he was delighted a "pragmatic solution" has been found.

"I have always been clear that the bus gate proposals would have simply diverted HGVs and other traffic on to more minor roads, merely moving the problem elsewhere, and causing rat-runs across Basford, May Bank and Wolstanton," he said.

Shaun Pender, Labour city councillor for Basford and Hartshill, said his party had always been opposed to the bus gate.

"Basford Bank is a key artery for traffic heading in a westerly direction from Stoke-on-Trent to Newcastle, so the bus gate would have caused problems for the whole city," he said.

Simon Tagg, Conservative leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said travel habits had changed since the pandemic and described the bus gate as "a large hammer to crack a very small nut".

The Green Party candidate for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Adam Colclough, said his party wanted to get people using public transport instead of cars to reduce pollution in the city.

He said his party would cautiously support measures such as a bus gate but would want it brought in in a way which addressed people’s concerns.

"Bus gates in the past have been sold as something that’s imposed but it’s got to be introduced by working with communities, businesses and individuals to make it successful," he added.

The BBC has approached other parties standing in the area in July's general election.

In a joint statement, the borough council, city council and county council said there was "still a lot of work to be done" to get their latest plan completed and approved by government.

The city council has also been told to cut nitrogen dioxide levels on Victoria Road in Fenton.

Council leaders believe this can be achieved through reducing congestion, as opposed to a more controversial clean air zone, which would see drivers of the most polluting vehicles charged to enter parts of Hanley and Fenton.