Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Transport Management

Forward Plan Ref: 2026/066

Key decision

Contact: Daniel McCrory, Technical Lead – Place Shaping

Daniel.mccrory@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Director of Environment and Highways (CA10)

This is a proposal to develop a Quiet Lanes policy for the county, along with an associated framework for their implementation.
The policy, its benefits and the framework should be first tested through the implementation of a programme pilot (through 2026/27) before being fully adopted and rolled out on wider scale if appropriate.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a)    Approve the county council’s Quiet Lanes Policy statement as attached at Annex 1

b)    Approve the Assessment criteria for consideration of Quiet Lanes at Annex 2 and the Implementation Toolkit at Annex 3

c)    Endorse the proposed approach to implementing, and testing, the Quiet Lanes Policy across Oxfordshire through a programme of pilot schemes (to be identified with local county councillors and parish/town councils)

d)    Delegate authority to Director of Environment & Highways, in consultation with Cabinet Member for Transport Management, to bring into operation Traffic Regulation Orders (both permanent and experimental) for the pilot schemes

Cabinet considered a report on Quiet Lanes Policy & Pilot Programme, aimed at making rural roads safer and more suitable for walking, cycling, wheeling and horse-riding through pilot schemes using existing allocations of funding and policy frameworks based on support from local areas.

Cabinet heard from external speakers on matters including the benefits for rural communities, road safety and danger, the structured pilot approach working with local communities, the prioritisation of schemes that enhance the wider active travel network and the need to have physical interventions to restrict access to quiet lanes.

Councillor Bekah Fletcher, Cabinet Member for Transport Management, introduced the report.

Cabinet noted the synergies with the direction set in the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP), supporting vision zero, healthy streets and public health aims. It was confirmed that after the pilot schemes had been rolled out, evaluation would be undertaken and it would be brought back to Cabinet to present the evaluation and refine the policy if required. Members also noted the importance of engagement with the community, parish council and local councillors to ensure it was requested, as was the case with the introduction of 20mph speed limits.

Councillor Fletcher moved and Councillor Epps seconded the recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:

a)    Approve the County Council’s Quiet Lanes Policy statement as attached at Annex 1

b)    Approve the Assessment criteria for consideration of Quiet Lanes at Annex 2 and the Implementation Toolkit at Annex 3

c)    Endorse the proposed approach to implementing, and testing, the Quiet Lanes Policy across Oxfordshire through a programme of pilot schemes (to be identified with local county councillors and parish/town councils)

d)    Delegate authority to Director of Environment & Highways, in consultation with Cabinet Member for Transport Management, to bring into operation Traffic Regulation Orders (both permanent and experimental) for the pilot schemes.