A Norfolk County Council cabinet member has unilaterally decided to scrap a ban on cars using a street in the centre of Norwich, largely on the grounds that large numbers of drivers were ignoring the restriction.
The decision by Tory councillor Graham Plant follows prime minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to end 'anti-car measures'.
Cllr Plant, the council’s cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, used an Individual Cabinet Member Decision to allow a series of restrictions implemented through experimental traffic regulation orders to lapse next month, including one on Exchange Street in Norwich. Other restrictions will be made permanent.
Conservative Cllr Plant has unilaterally decided to reopen Exchange St to though traffic after more than 3 years.
— Cllr Liam Calvert ?? (@LiamCalvert) October 10, 2023
The pedestrianisation has the support of all parties represented in Norwich.
Among the reasons was a lack of compliance by motorists.https://t.co/JTimnYdzML
As Highways has reported, Norfolk Police has previously said that 'finite resource’ prevented it from taking action against motorists illegally using Exchange Street. Instead, it arrested or moved pedestrians seeking to act as ‘human bollards’.
A document setting out reasons for the decision, states that a survey in January found hundreds of vehicles using the street between 10am and 4pm when no vehicles should enter and that only 3% of the total traffic observed was legitimately using it for loading purposes.
The report describes the police as having initially ‘enforced’ the restriction, ‘through educating drivers with verbal warnings and clarification’, followed by issuing fixed penalty notices (FPN).
It states: ‘The need to intervene has reduced, particularly once the approach to issue FPNs was introduced, but a persistent level of noncompliance remains.
Despite stating that the need to intervene had reduced, the council decided to drop the restriction on safety grounds.
Cllr Plant said: ‘Safety will always be our priority and it is clear that maintaining the current arrangement would continue to see an unacceptable mix between vehicles and those walking, wheeling and cycling.
‘We therefore will not be making the restrictions permanent, and Exchange Street will re-open to traffic. In the coming weeks we will be working with the city council and local businesses on Exchange Street and surrounding area to work through the changes.’
The council previously told Highways that if the ban became permanent it would consider using enforcement cameras to enforce moving traffic violations in Exchange Street, as it had done elsewhere under new powers.
This week it told Highways that the process to introduce cameras is not simple but requires a clear evidence base that they are both needed and that motorists understand the restrictions.
Once this is established, a further public consultation is needed and there needs to be a route that avoids the restriction without drivers having to reverse in the highway, which is not possible with the current arrangement, the council added.
A spokesperson for Norfolk Constabulary said: 'Norfolk Constabulary have been heavily involved in the enforcement of the restriction. The approach was more to work with and educate drivers in the first instance rather than purely enforcement.
'We began to issue tickets when the volume of traffic remained high but committing resources on a regular basis to police Exchange Street long-term is not sustainable.'
