Oxfordshire County Council approves installation of ANPR cameras in Cowley’s LTNs

Vehicles that aren’t exempt will be subject to a penalty charge notice.

Oxfordshire County Council has recently given its approval for the installation of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras at three points within the low traffic neighbourhoods in Cowley.

They will be on Littlemore Road, Crescent Road, and Littlehay Road.

Exemptions have been granted to emergency services, buses, taxis, private hire vehicles, and universal service provider (postal service) vehicles, acknowledging their essential functions within the community.

Blue Badge holders and carers will not be exempt, but the council is to continue reviewing the needs of other needing to use the roads.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, assured the meeting of the council’s ongoing review and monitoring of its highways programmes and said: 

“The LTNs help to achieve some of the council’s priorities to prioritise the health and wellbeing of residents and invest in an inclusive, integrated and sustainable transport network.

“What we’re talking about today is not the principle of whether the LTNs should be there or not but about the method of enforcement and relatively minor changes to how they are enforced.

“With the commitments to review and with the provisos about keeping in touch with interested stakeholders on specific issues, I am agreeing to the two recommendations as set out in the report.”

The proposals underwent a public consultation phase from 6th March to 17th April 2023. Initially, exemptions were only presented for Littlemore Road during the consultation.

 However, based on feedback received and further discussions with emergency services, interest groups, and local residents, the council were urged to consider extending the same exemptions to Crescent Road and Littlehay Road as part of the decision-making process.

The council will continue to review exemptions across all locations to ensure that the objectives of the LTNs, which include reducing through-traffic and creating quieter and safer roads for walking, wheeling, and cycling, are still achievable.

 The installation of these cameras is expected to take place early next year.