Agenda item

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/119

Contact: Owen South, Senior Transport Planner Tel: 07932 605693

Report by Director for Planning & Place (CMDE4).

This report seeks Cabinet Member approval in principle for an 18 month experimental environmental weight limit covering the length of Burford High Street between the A40 roundabout to the south and the A361/A424 junction just north of Burford Bridge. 

The town council, local residents and local members of the county council have been campaigning for a weight limit for Burford for many years to address concerns about noise, vibration, air pollution and road safety issues associated with lorry traffic as well as the negative impact on the town's tourist economy.

However, this is being taken forwards on a temporary, experimental basis initially because of concerns raised in traffic modelling work that lorries might divert via other towns and villages, transferring these problems there instead.  This would not be acceptable but there is some scepticism about how accurately it is possible to predict such diversion and an expectation that much of the lorry traffic diverting away from Burford would do so via major A roads and motorways, particularly in the case of long distance lorry traffic.  Traffic monitoring will therefore be carried out at a number of key locations in order to identify any possible, adverse effects.

The cost of implementation, including the major costs of signing and enforcement, would be met by the local community.  This project would be the first community funded weight limit in Oxfordshire and can be seen as a pilot for other such schemes elsewhere in future.

The details of enforcement and the operation of a permit scheme (for local access to locations outside Burford High Street for which avoiding the High Street would be too onerous) have yet to be finalised.  The intention is to devolve a major part of enforcement activity to Burford Town Council.  However, this requires further work by OCC Trading Standards and Legal Services; when this is concluded, a further report will be taken to CMD.  

The Cabinet Member for Environment is RECOMMENDED to

(a)             approve in principle an experimental weight limit order for Burford, subject to agreement on local funding, evaluation and success criteria, and enforcement arrangements as described above;

(b)             request a further report setting out these proposals in detail for consideration at a future Cabinet Member for Environment Delegated Decisions meeting, to enable the scheme to be implemented subject to their approval.

The Cabinet Member for Environment considered a report (CMDE4) seeking approval in principle for an 18-month experimental environmental weight limit covering the length of Burford High Street between the A40 roundabout to the south and the A361/A424 junction just north of Burford Bridge. 

James Kitcher-Jones spoke in support. Chipping Norton Town Council had campaigned for many years to reduce heavy traffic levels in the town.  Pending  provision of a relief road they saw this as a necessary measure to reduce pollution in the town which was 50% above legal limits and the 300 HGVs which currently travelled through the town.

Responding to the Cabinet Member he could not put a specific figure on vehicle reduction but the town council were confident that it would be a significant reduction.

District Councillor Neil Owen felt the case had been well made for introduction of an order and he thanked the officers and everyone who had been involved in the process. He was confident that the trial period would clearly illustrate the benefits to be gained and hoped that in time the measure would become permanent.

Speaking in support Ken Gray pointed out that Department of Transport statistics showed HGV traffic to be predominantly long-distance originating from outside Oxfordshire; mainly north to south or south to north with east west traffic emanating from or to Bourton-on-the-Water. Diversion of north-south traffic would be by the M40/A34/A320 or the A429 to Cirencester or the A40 for east – west and not through local towns and villages. This diversion had been supported by patterns of traffic when the A361 between Burford and Chipping Norton had been closed in March 2018 and had not resulted in any increase in HGV traffic on the Witney-Charlbury road, the Witney-Bladon road or the Stow-Chipping Norton road with traffic diverted to M40. The experimental order would show whether or not that trend would continue with substantial reductions in pollution levels in Witney and Chipping Norton. He added that no results should be used from the OCC model forecasting HGV routes which officers had acknowledged were inadequate.

John White endorsed the comments made by earlier speakers and welcomed the experimental order which would allow a decision to be taken based on fact and not assumption. He asked that the order specifically refer to vehicles of 7.5 tonnes accepting a comment from the Cabinet Member that there would need to be permitted exemptions.

District Councillor Julian Cooper was concerned and confident that this scheme would bring more traffic to Woodstock the impact of which would be felt in a town where front doors were closer to traffic than in Burford; with many services under the highway which would be put at risk and close to a World Heritage Site. He then posed a question that if this order was granted and a precedent set in Burford it would make it difficult to resist a similar request from Woodstock Town and so rather than adopt a piece meal approach to highway management he suggested that efforts should instead be made to securing a strategy for the whole of north Oxfordshire including double tracking of the Cotswold line.

Colin Carritt could see the merits in the experiment and although he had sympathy for Burford and its residents he was unhappy with views expressed regarding the effect on Woodstock and felt that any moves to alleviate problems in one area should not be at the expense of other communities such as, in this case, Enstone and Woodstock. Displaced traffic could lead to an additional 100 or more vehicles going through Woodstock which had more houses close up against the road than in Burford, more listed buildings. The road itself through Woodstock was narrow and hilly and these extra vehicles would only exacerbate the risk of accidents.

Responding to the Cabinet Member who had pointed out that one of the specific monitoring points proposed would be at the Bladon roundabout which would measure traffic in Woodstock he hoped that would be the case but he still regretted that there was no specific mention of Woodstock in the monitoring and evaluating process.

County Councillor Nick Field-Johnson clarified that HGVs were without doubt damaging Burford, its listed buildings and the services it provided.  Other communities would benefit and he did not accept that displaced traffic would inevitably go through Woodstock but that was why a trial was being proposed.  These measures were long overdue and he urged approval.

The Cabinet Member reported comments received from the West Oxfordshire District Council Cabinet supporting the proposal, while emphasising the importance of the effective use of the temporary period fully and properly to assess the impact of the proposed weight restriction in terms of the consequences for other towns and villages because of HGVs using alternative routes.  A letter from Woodstock Town Council objecting strongly to the order.  had been tabled and circulated with the published addenda sheet.

Mr Disley confirmed that an experimental order had been proposed to enable the highway authority to obtain a complete picture of traffic movements. That would then be properly evaluated using a range of robust measures culminating in another full consultation to be undertaken before any permanent measures were introduced.

Concerning the point raised by one of the speakers regarding a similar request for Woodstock he confirmed that the highway authority was required to work within a Local Transport Plan Route Hierarchy. That identified Burford High Street (A361) as a Class 3b County Principal (A) Classified Road (Minor) A road suitable for important cross and inter-county traffic where there were relatively lower volumes of mostly local traffic. Minor A-roads served to link larger settlements with major A-roads providing missing links and were roads which could be subject to weight restrictions where suitable alternative routes were available.   However, the A44 through Woodstock had a status of a Class 2b Other Primary Route suitable for longer distance and inter-regional traffic and which might be part of the national lorry network.  No restrictions on access or permanent weight restrictions could be considered on these types or road. Therefore, to allow a similar restriction in Woodstock would require the A44 to be given a different classification within the hierarchy framework.

He also confirmed that the order when made could be amended to include a specific 7.5 tonne limit.

The Cabinet Member for Environment acknowledged the letter from Woodstock Town Council but felt that monitoring would deal with those issues.  The current proposal had been considered in great detail over the past 15 months with discussions going back more than 20 years. She noted the support from West Oxfordshire District Council and adjoining localities such as Chipping Norton and recognised the need for robust monitoring including a full evaluation of air quality. Therefore, having regard to the information contained in the report before her and the representations made to her at the meeting the Cabinet Member for Environment confirmed her decision as follows:

(a)         approve in principle an experimental 7.5 tonne weight limit order for Burford, subject to agreement on local funding, evaluation and success criteria, and enforcement arrangements as described in the report CMDE4;

(b)         request a further report setting out these proposals in detail for consideration at a future Cabinet Member for Environment Delegated Decisions meeting, to enable the scheme to be implemented subject to their approval.

Signed ……………………………………

Cabinet Member for Environment

Date of signing…………………………..