Oxfordshire’s Conservative MPs have today written jointly to the Department for Transport to seek answers and raise concerns over whether Oxfordshire County Council committed to install traffic filters before consulting the public.
This follows reports that Oxfordshire County Council had provided a written commitment to the Department for Transport in March 2022 that the traffic filters would be approved by December 2022, despite the public consultation on the proposal not opening until September 2022 and approval officially being given by the Council’s Cabinet in November 2022. It has also been revealed through a separate Freedom of Information request that important traffic impact data was withheld from the public until the consultation had closed.
The MPs have asked the Department for Transport to clarify whether a written commitment was indeed made to them before the public consultation opened and, if so, whether the Department for Transport asked for this and whether Oxfordshire County Council was provided with funding as a result.
The letter was signed by David Johnston MP, John Howell MP, Robert Courts MP and Victoria Prentis MP.
David Johnston MP, John Howell MP, Robert Courts MP and Victoria Prentis MP said:
“Recent reports have been very concerning and suggest that Oxfordshire County Council made the decision to approve the traffic filters in bad faith, far in advance, without any proper consultation with the people who would be affected by it. The public deserve answers, and we look forward to hearing from the Department for Transport about this.”
