Florence Pugh's father loses bar and blames LTNs for 'stress'

Clinton Pugh, the owner of restaurants Café Coco and Kazbar, has told the Oxford Mail exclusively that Café Tarifa has been re-possessed. 

Mr Pugh has long been a critic of the county council’s LTNs and has previously put up a banner outside Café Coco.

He attacked the county council for “not consulting” with East Oxford businesses before LTNs were introduced in May 2022.

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Business owner Clinton Pugh (Image: Ed Halford)

Before Café Tarifa was re-possessed, Mr Pugh said he was in the process of selling the lease for the bar and received an offer of £100,000.

Mr Pugh said: “I was hoping to sell my business before the Covid pandemic, and the council has made it very difficult.”

Mr Pugh said the LTNs had caused significant disruption to his business and were responsible for “extra stress”.

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He said: “The LTNs are responsible for staffing issues, as staff refuse to work on Cowley Road as they find it extremely difficult to get to and from work.

“My employees tell me that all journeys are taking around four times as long.

“The county council has closed roads without thinking it through and they have not bothered to help businesses.”

Clinton Pugh is selling his Cafe Coco business (Image: Ed Halford)

Mr Pugh joined other business owners recently in calling for the council to provide “compensation” after the government announced it was stopping all funding for LTNs.

He said he was trying to sell Café Coco but promised to continue “fighting for the other small businesses owners”.

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Mr Pugh also owned the lease for the sustainable clothing shop ‘indigo natural living’ but this was forced to close its doors in July 2022.

Mr Pugh said this shop closing provided him with more problems.

The site where the now closed 'indigo natural living' used to be located (Image: Ed Halford)

He said: “I was having to deal with the rent from the indigo shop after it closed.”

Mr Pugh has said the continued lack of support from the county council means he has been forced to put his restaurant Café Coco back on the market.

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READ MORE: Oxford businesses demand LTN council 'compensation'

The county council recently revealed to the Oxford Times that in previous funding rounds it received £3.25 million for LTNs and Quickways.

The Department of Transport has made it clear that none of the winning bids for a share of the £200 million pot of Active Travel funding included LTNs in their projects.

A county council spokesman confirmed LTNs were not included in the latest bid for Active Travel funding.

A county council spokesman said:“LTNs are part of the county council’s local transport and connectivity plan, designed to improve travel and transport.

"They are intended to make residential streets safer and more comfortable for walking, wheeling, and cycling.

"As part of the central Oxfordshire travel plan, they are designed to work together with other measures to reduce congestion and improve air quality.

“The LTNs already in Oxford will continue to be monitored by the council.

"The East Oxford LTNs area is still in a trial period, and subject to a county cabinet decision later this year.

"Although the online consultation on the East Oxford LTNs has now closed we encourage people to continue sharing their feedback with us.

"This feedback will contribute to the reporting that will be presented to cabinet for decision.

“We currently have no plans to introduce any more LTNs areas in Oxford but we continue to monitor the overall situation carefully to understand travel and traffic behaviour across the city.”

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About the author 

To sign up to Ed's weekly Politics newsletter, click here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/newsletters/

Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. 

He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.

Ed’s weekly politics newsletter is released every Saturday morning.