Southampton's e-scooter trial to continue until November

Later this year councillors will have to decide whether to extend the e-scooter trials beyond November 2022

Plans which will allow a city's e-scooter trail to continue into the autumn have been approved.

Southampton City Council has agreed for a temporary order allowing e-scooter riders to use cycle lanes in the city to be made permanent.

This will allow the e-scooter trail to continue until the end of November.

The city council will then have to decide whether to further extend the scheme - which was first launched in March 2021.

It comes as the Department for Transport has given councils the opportunity to extend e-scooter trials until the end of May 2024, if they wish to do so.

The scheme in Southampton has so far sparked mixed reactions with some fearing of "an accident waiting to happen", while others said the trial is helping to "reduce pollution".

A total of 1,250 Voi e-scooters are currently in use across the city, with 666,845 rides being completed so far, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Earlier this year, Portsmouth City Council also decided to extend the city's e-scooter trial until the end of November.