Oxfordshire and Oxford councillors threatened over traffic filters

Oxfordshire County Council hopes the project will encourage walking, cycling and shared and public transport use

Staff and councillors have suffered extreme and threatening abuse over plans to set up traffic filters in Oxford, it has been revealed.

Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council said some cases had been reported to Thames Valley Police.

In a joint statement they said it was happening "due to inaccurate information, being circulated online".

Six traffic filters were given the go-ahead by the county council's cabinet last month as part of a £6.5m trial.

They aim to cut unnecessary journeys and make walking, cycling, and public and shared transport the "natural first choice".

In a statement the county council told the BBC: "Both councils have received a high number of abusive and threatening correspondence through emails, social media and phone calls.

"The volume of these inappropriate comments is higher than usual.

"We are working closely with Thames Valley Police on cases where individual councillors have been subject to threatening behaviour."

The traffic filters plan is one of several changes that could be introduced across Oxford

The traffic filters are to be placed at:

• Hythe Bridge Street

• Thames Street

• St Cross Road

• St Clements

• Hollow Way

• Marston Ferry Road

They will operate for seven days a week from 07:00 until 19:00, except those in Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way which would only operate from 07:00 until 09:00 and from 15:00 until 18:00, Monday to Saturday.

Any driver going through a filter who is neither exempt nor using a permit would be charged a £70 penalty.

The councils said they were looking after the wellbeing of staff and councillors and were offering them support.

They have released FAQs to "set the record straight" about the new measures.

In them they point out that the filters will not be physical barriers, and deny that Oxford residents will be confined to their local areas.

More than 5,700 people took part in a consultation on traffic filters and thousands of others expressed concerns in petitions.

But there was also support from Oxford University and the Oxford Bus Company.

The council has said the project should not start before the planned revamp of Oxford train station, which is set to close part of Botley Road for most of 2023.