Oxford pro-LTN councillor asks to temporarily remove bollard

Charlie Hicks said he had reached out to highways chief Andrew Gant about opening up the Low Traffic Neighbourhood in Temple Cowley.

It follows severe traffic over recent days in the Headington area caused by an emergency road closure of Hollow Way.

Long tailbacks formed in Headington on Monday (October 2) at around 5pm (Image: OneHeadington)

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Mr Hicks, who represents Cowley on Oxfordshire County Council, said he and fellow Labour councillors had asked Mr Gant to to create a temporary diversion route through the Temple Cowley LTN.

The deputy Labour Group leader said it would “mitigate the impact on local business footfall on Hollow Way.”

Charlie Hicks (left) has shown strong support for the controversial LTN scheme in East Oxford (Image: Ed Nix)

This is despite his strong support for the controversial LTN scheme in East Oxford.

But since his request, Mr Hicks has conceded to the council’s argument that opening the LTN would worsen traffic issues.

He said he understood Mr Gant's decision to keep the LTN bollard on Crescent Road in place.

“I understand that in making this decision, officers and Mr Gant have to balance multiple factors," he said.

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He said that following his request, the council will ensure that 'business open as usual' signs will be put up to help mitigate the impact on local businesses.

But Mr Hicks’ position has been criticised by Oxford city councillor Sajjad Malik, who accused him and the Labour group of “playing politics”.

The Temple Cowley councillor said: “He has always supported the LTNs in Temple Cowley.

“Labour is playing politics because it is out of the coalition (on Oxfordshire County Council), and Charlie Hicks is a worried man.

“If he means business, he can propose a motion at the next council meeting to remove the LTNs, because the Conservatives would support it.

“All that people want is honesty.”

Hollow Way has been closed while Thames Water carries out repair works on a pipe (Image: Tom Seaward)

The traffic issues over the last few days have been caused by Thames Water closing Hollow Way to carry out repair works on a pipe.

During the works, there is a diversion route in place through The Slade, Eastern By-Pass and Garsington Road.

Hollow Way is set to reopen today (Friday, October 6).

The county council said an assessment was made of how traffic flow would be affected if the Crescent Road LTN were to be opened.

A spokesperson said: 'If the council was to open the LTN’s this may cause severe traffic congestion as drivers would likely use Crescent Road as a diversion route through this residential area to Cowley Rd from The Slade and vice-versa, instead of using the official ring-road diversion that is currently in place.

"This would lead to worsen traffic issues for affected residents and businesses."