Burford: Oxfordshire councillors want town's lorry ban reconsidered

Fourteen councillors have said they want the Burford trial decision reassessed

A decision to end a trial that banned some lorries from driving through a town centre must be reconsidered, some councillors have said.

HGVs weighing more than 7.5 tonnes have been stopped from driving through parts of Burford since August 2020.

Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for travel Duncan Enright decided earlier the authority will not extend the trial beyond 5 February.

But 14 county councillors have said they want the decision reassessed.

Burford residents wanted the measure to continue but others in nearby towns and villages said they had been adversely affected by offset traffic.

Mr Enright decided on 5 January that the council will look to introduce a countywide freight scheme to address problems.

He concluded that criteria set by the council at the start of the trial to measure its success had not been met.

A town councillor said the trial has had a "transformative" impact on Burford

But the 14 councillors, led by Burford and Carterton North member, Nicholas Field-Johnson, allege Mr Enright based his decision on "erroneous information".

They want the decision to be decided by the council's cabinet.

The council's place overview and scrutiny committee will decide on Wednesday if it should refer the decision to the cabinet, back to Mr Enright for reconsideration or take no action.

Trade bodies, including the Road Haulage Association and Logistics UK, were opposed to the trial being continued, as were Thames Valley Police and Gloucestershire County Council.