Councillors concerned after suspected arson attack on LTNs

Two LTN road blocks, which are designed to reduce traffic and improve air quality, were discovered destroyed by fire this morning in Howard and Barnet streets.

The arson attack followed weeks of LTN vandalism causing Oxford County Council, which introduced the trial of the bollards in March, to fork out £12,000 in repairs

READ MORE: LTNs melted overnight in suspected arson attack

However Councillor Damian Hayward, who represents the Iffley Fields and St Mary's Wards, said the council will “not be intimidated” by the act and hopes to install CCTV in impacted areas.

Melted LTN in Howard Street (Image: Archive)

“I’m really concerned,” he said. “It’s all well and good for people to express their concerns but I’m upset people are resorting to this level of violence.

“It’s causing potential harm to the area and surrounding buildings and it could have a great impact.

“Residents were upset by the vandalism of course but this new level is making them really afraid – what’s next? Removing bollards is one thing but now we have fearful residents

“We’ve involved Thames Valley Police this morning and I’ve spoken to my colleagues about how to take this forward but it’s absolutely another level which is completely unacceptable.”

Mr Hayward added that the council will replace the two melted bollards “as soon as possible” and are looking at preventative measures such as CCTV.

He said: “This is what it has come to and it is really disappointing. There is an incredibly small minority of people who feel totally grieved and rather than taking the right, helpful approach they are using violence to try and resolve the issue.

Melted LTN in Howard Street

READ MORE: Motorcyclist dies after crashing into barrier

“We are not going to be intimidated. It makes me quite furious.”

Independent city councillor for Temple Cowley, Sajjad Malik believes the LTNs are a “waste of the taxpayers money” but said “arson is a step too far”.

“It’s absolutely not acceptable,” he said. “It’s not the way, even if you don’t like the LTNs. Arson is going a step too far.

“That should be condemned at the highest level and I hope the culprit is caught. We can all have a different opinion but you shouldn’t put others at risk.”

Amir Steve Ali, who ran as an independent candidate in May’s Oxford City Council elections, is also against the LTNs but agrees the suspected arson is “step too far”

He said: “Even though I’m against LTNs, I am totally against any illegal activity going on. Whoever is doing this, my message is, ‘Please stop, it’s not the right way. You’re breaking the law, we should respect the law and follow the rules.’

“What happened could have been nastier. Say the fire expanded to the plant pots, or onto someone’s car or someone’s garden hedges. Fire spreads in seconds and someone could have been killed - whoever did should be caught and face the consequences.”

A council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the two incidents in Howard Street and Barnet Street. We are making arrangements to make the sites safe and reinstate the damaged bollards.

“Should this prove to be vandalism then we would like to stress that such behaviour is a criminal offence and we take this extremely seriously.

READ MORE: Police hunt for two people after three men assaulted outside Oxford bar

“The right way to make your voice heard is to take part in our public consultation, at letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/east-oxford-ltns-2022.”

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: “All we’d want to say is to encourage anyone with information about an arson, or any other crime, to please report it to us by calling 101 or making a report on our website.”

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland, she joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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