A judge hit out at ‘dreadful’ traffic problems in Oxford – as he predicted it would not be long before bewigged judges were asked to come to court on Park and Ride buses.
Judge Michael Gledhill KC’s comments came as the sentencing of a couple of robbers had to be adjourned – after the barrister representing one of the two defendants was stuck in traffic.
He said: “It won’t be long before judges are told to park in the Park and Ride with all the security implications that follow from that.”
Driving to the private car park at the back of Oxford Combined Court is likely to get harder once the council installs a ‘traffic filter’ bus gate on Thames Street near the junction with Speedwell Street.
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That will mean the only way of driving from the ring road to court – at least from 7am until 7pm, when the bus gates are operational – will be down Abingdon Road.
Currently, it is possible to reach the court from west Oxford, by driving down Thames Street and turning left onto Speedwell Street.
When the traffic filters come into force, the only vehicles able to drive through them will be those with specific exemptions such as carers or emergency vehicles - and, for 100 days of the years, city residents who hold a permit.
A spokeswoman for Oxfordshire County Council confirmed that an exception would not be made for judges.
She said: “While permits are not being made available to workers commuting into the city, any part of the city will be accessible by car, but some journeys may need to use a different route during the operating hours of the traffic filters.
“The Oxford Combined Court will be accessible by private car at any time via Abingdon Road, with no need to go through a traffic filter.”
The sentencing of robbers Colin Sumner, 41, and Rebecca Tremlett, 26, for the robbery in Barton, Oxford, in May 2019 had been brought forward from this Friday for the benefit of the barrister who, as of 11am on Monday morning, was still stuck in traffic.
However, no one thought to tell the probation service that the hearing date had been brought forward, meaning that pre-sentence reports being compiled by a probation officer were not yet finished.
Judge Gledhill said that was ‘not probation’s fault’ and refixed the date of the sentencing hearing.
He suggested that delays on the city’s roads were rather more predictable. “Everybody knows that the traffic problems in Oxford are really pretty dreadful,” he said.
Prosecutor Steven Molloy agreed that it was a ‘brave’ person who took to their car in the city.
The sentencing hearing was adjourned until April.
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