Low-traffic neighborhood (LTN) bosses are acting like “dictators,” Florence Pugh’s father claimed after he was forced to close a cafe.
Clinton Pugh, the owner of three food outlets on Cowley Road, has been an outspoken critic of the East Oxford LTN, which was put forward as a trial in May last year by Oxfordshire County Council.
His attack on the “really stupid” scheme comes after Rishi Sunak promised drivers he is “on their side” by ordering a review of controversial anti-car schemes being implemented in Britain.
The Prime Minister has told the Transport Department to investigate LTNs, which often use cameras, giant flower boxes and bollards to keep cars out, The Telegraph has revealed.
‘It’s really stupid’
In Oxford, council chiefs have closed a patchwork of residential lanes surrounding Pugh’s businesses to vehicles in a bid to prioritize cyclists and pedestrians, meaning drivers must take a long detour onto neighboring busy lanes. to get to him.
Now Mr Pugh, whose daughter is currently starring in the hit film Oppenheimer, has lashed out at Oxfordshire county council bosses after claiming he was forced to close Café Tarifa, one of his restaurants beloved by locals.
“The losses have been so high that I have lost a site,” he told Sky News, questioning why the council did not shut down the LTN deployment more “understanding” by closing one in three roads.
Why do it all at once? It’s just not well thought out, it’s really stupid,” she said.
“They act like they are dictators. This is the problem. It’s your idea. They have asked our opinion and they are not listening.”
‘People just don’t come’
Pugh, whose restaurants have populated Oxford for 31 years, added: “It’s gotten harder to get here, people just don’t come.
“You can’t get staff, they can’t get home or they have to have taxis. The cost of these things is just astronomical, and people don’t want to work.
“The merchants cannot come because it takes a long time to arrive.”
