High Street pedestrian zone to stay

A CONTROVERSIAL pedestrianisation scheme on Thornbury High Street is set to become permanent.

The local authority’s Conservative administration is due to rubber-stamp a report locking in the changes from last summer on Monday, June 7.

But it is adding drop-off and pick-up points for shoppers after they and traders complained they were cut off from the shops.

South Gloucestershire Council used an emergency order to close the High Street to traffic in June last year to help people comply with social distancing.

The following month it added a one-way system for delivery drivers and residential access, as well as a 20mph speed limit, under a new order allowing it to make experimental changes while holding a public consultation. But it was clear well before the six-month consultation closed in February that the scheme was unpopular with many residents and businesses.

More than 1,800 people signed a petition against the closure, and traders in Thornbury said making the pedestrianisation permanent would decimate trade.

A year after the changes were first brought in, the High Street remains closed to through-traffic between The Close and Castle Court, with vehicles diverted via Midland Lane, Rock Street, Quaker Lane and on to The Plain.

As well as the one-way system and 20mph limit, the council has made other changes to address various concerns – including adding six disabled parking bays, kerb ramps, new cycle parking, and new seating – but these have not been enough to win over the majority in favour of the scheme.

The consultation results are set out in a report due to be discussed by cabinet members, who will be asked to approve a permanent ban on through-traffic in the High Street, a one-way system for delivery vehicles, and pick-up and drop-off points for customers.

The council has already spent most of £220,000 of government funding for active travel measures on Thornbury High Street allocated last year, according to the cabinet report. It has been given another £60,000 to develop a permanent scheme and is expecting to get around £6m more from the West of England Combined Authority.