Agenda item

Petitions and Public Address

This Cabinet Member for Environment Delegated Decisions meeting will be held virtually in order to conform with current guidelines regarding social distancing. Normally requests to speak at this public meeting are required by 9 am on the day preceding the published date of the meeting. However, during the current situation and to facilitate these new arrangements we are asking that requests to speak are submitted by no later than 9am four working days before the meeting i.e. 9 am on Friday 23 April 2021. Requests to speak should be sent to graham.warrington@oxfordshire.gov.uk. We ask for a written statement of your presentation to ensure that if the technology fails then your views can still be considered. That statement can either be submitted with your request but should in any event be provided no later than 9 am 2 working days before the meeting – Tuesday 27 April 2021).

 

Where a meeting is held virtually and the addressee is unable to participate virtually a written submission will be accepted.

 

Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

 

Minutes:

Petitions

 

A petition was presented by Jamie Hartzell from the Jericho Low Traffic neighbourhood Group in the following terms:

“We call on Oxfordshire County Council to implement a northbound traffic filter on Walton Street at the same time as, and in addition to, their current proposals to limit southbound traffic in Jericho and Walton Manor. The precise position of this filter should be decided in consultation with the community. Only by introducing measures that reduce or eliminate both northbound and southbound traffic can the Council’s aims of introducing a low traffic neighbourhood and encouraging active travel be met.”

Presenting the petition comprising of 1,100 signatures Mr Hartzell on behalf of the petitioners called on the County Council to introduce measures educing or eliminating both northbound and southbound traffic in Jericho and Walton Manor. By comparison the Jericho Connections petition last year that called for the barrier to be re-opened had just 660 signatories but more importantly many of those had been from outside the area, from places as far away as Scotland, Egypt and even Argentina with only 387 of them from Oxford City which appeared to represent a familiar pattern from the anti-LTN, pro-car lobby and a recent petition against the Cowley LTNs had been found to have large numbers of signatories from abroad and seemed that activists with no connection to the area are piling in in support of a cause.

 

However, 96% of the signatories on this petition were from Oxford which was  nearly three times as many local people for a low traffic neighbourhood as against and gathered in just 7 weeks whereas it had taken Jericho Connections 7 months to gather theirs.

 

Many of the comments in the petition stated how Walton Street was a much more attractive area to visit now traffic had been restricted and he quoted some of the comments directed at the Council itself:

 

“You need to hold your nerve and drive positive behaviour change, not cave in to a loud minority.”

 

and

 

“If you insist on reintroducing northbound motor vehicles from Worcester Street to Walton Street you will be taking one of the most thoroughly retrograde steps in Oxford over the last few years, for no good reason at all.”

 

He hoped as did many others that we still lived in a democracy and that the Council would be guided by the facts and not by the shouting. This petition clearly demonstrated that the majority of people were in favour of stopping through traffic in Jericho and Walton Manor.

 

He urged the Cabinet Member no to take Oxford backwards on its Active Travel, air pollution and climate change commitments but instead respect the views of the majority and introduce a scheme stopping all through traffic.

The petition was received and referred to officers.

Speakers

 

 

Speakers

 

Item

 

 

John Faux

Jamie Hartzell

Clive Bramley

Danny Yee

Kate Seal

Pip McCallister

Dr Kiki Isidoros

Patrick Davey

Kai Pischke

Pamela Foley

Bernadette Evans

Chris Banton

Abigail Vint

John Mair – connection problems so his statement was read out

Sushila Dhall

James Salter

Kajsa Wilhelmson

Brenda Boardman (COHSAT)

David Wyatt

Jacky Penning-Rowsall

Stephen Brown

Joelle Mann

Sarah Edwards

Stephen Charters

Salah Elmasri

Ken Paul

City Councillor Alex Hollingsworth

County Councillor John Howson

County Councillor Susanna Pressel

County Councillor Emma Turnbull

 

 

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) 4. Jericho and Walton Manor Area )Pilot Scheme and Walton Street )Experimental Prohibition of Motor )Vehicles

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David Palmer

County Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak

 

 

) 5. Henley – A4155 Marlow Road – )Proposed Puffin Crossing

 

 

Tim Hoskins

County Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak

 

 

) 6. Henley – Gravel Hill – Proposed )Zebra Crossing

 

 

County Councillor Charles Mathew

 

 

7. Witney and Eynsham – Proposed Bus Stop Build Outs

 

 

The Cabinet Member took the opportunity to confirm that the both the Director of Law & Governance and Head of Legal Services at Oxfordshire County Council had advised that it was acceptable for this Item 4 to be considered during the pre-election period.

 

She then asked elected Councillors to restrict their comments when speaking to the business in hand and resist making any political statements and to other speakers to refrain from interrupting during the meeting and to respect other contributors.