Pedestrianisation plans turned down
WEST Berkshire Council has turned down calls to pedestrianise Newbury town centre until midnight, saying it doesn’t want to reintroduce temporary measures.
In February, the Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) called for parts of the town centre to be pedestrianised until midnight for an initial five-week period to allow as many venues as possible to be able to operate from April 12, the date when hospitality venues are allowed to reopen for outdoor drinking and dining.
Currently, traffic in the town is allowed between 5pm and 10am.
The proposed change, the BID said, would still allow access for deliveries from midnight until 10am each day and would give a window of opportunity in the morning for shoppers and other members of the public to drive through town.
It would also create a safe and welcoming space for visitors, residents and employees to eat, drink and relax without the noise and safety risks from traffic.
The initiative was then unanimously backed by Newbury Town Council, with councillor David Marsh (Green, Wash Common) saying it would help the town’s cafés, pubs and restaurants get back on their feet while they are limited to outdoor dining only.
However, West Berkshire Council has turned down the request, saying that it is working on a full masterplan of the town centre which would factor in the views of all the businesses.
Council leader Lynne Doherty (Con, Speen) also added that the council had concerns about businesses losing their click-andcollect service if the town centre was closed to traffic until
midnight.
Mrs Doherty said: “We’re working on a finite solution in the Newbury town centre masterplan.
“It gets more dangerous to keep yo-yoing and changing things for five months at a time or three months at a time.
“We will look at what spaces can be used going forward – we’re very open and willing to do that.
“We’re trying to do all we can to support our businesses.”
The BID chief executive Melissa Hughes expressed her disappointment in the decision, particularly as she said 80 per cent of businesses that the BID had spoken to prior to the proposal were in favour of it.
She said: “It’s disappointing because it’s going to make it really challenging for the hospitality venues to open from April 12.
“For some of them it was almost vital.
“Eighty per cent of businesses were in favour because not only is it good for the hospitality industry
but it’s good for the town – and other businesses would benefit from having people in town.
“The Market Place poses the most challenges and certainly most of those venues will have to consider whether it can work for them.”
Mr Marsh has criticised the decision, accusing the council of “a lack of imagination”.
He said: “I’m absolutely aghast. “I’m really shocked because one of the main reasons they gave us for not extending it in the autumn was that businesses were split on it.
“However, this isn’t the case now. The BID have put forward a really well-argued and researched document.
“It would help the hospitality trade which has been so badly hit.
“This isn’t talking about a year or two down the line, it’s about now.
“The Conservatives are supposed to be the party of business – some of them are on their knees and some have gone bust.”