Temporary congestion charge considered for city
Car drivers could be forced to pay a £5 temporary congestion charge to access a city centre.
Oxfordshire County Council said it was considering setting up a two-year scheme in Oxford from the autumn.
It said action was needed due to traffic issues caused by the long-term closure of Botley Road for works.
However, Oxford City Council leader Susan Brown said the proposal would "allow people who can afford to do so to buy access to our streets".
Paying the £5 charge, which would only apply to cars, would allow drivers to go through the six charge locations until the end of the day.
Permits would be available for carers, traders, blue badge holders and those commuting to or living in a central area of the city.
The county council said action was needed because of delays to a planned trial of traffic filters, which cannot be introduced until Botley Road is reopened.
The route is currently shut because of overrunning works at Oxford Station and the railway bridge, which are now not due to finish until August next year.
The charging points for the congestion zone would be in the same places as the planned traffic filters:
Hythe Bridge Street
St Cross Road
St Clement's Street
Thames Street
Marston Ferry Road
Hollow Way
Andrew Gant, in charge of transport for the Liberal Democrat-run county council, said: "We urgently need to see improvements to travel around the city, better bus services and less traffic overall, to help people get around.
"We must take action for our residents, businesses and visitors while Botley Road remains closed."
However, Oxford City Council said there has been no previous consultation on the plan.
Labour leader Susan Brown said: "Yet again the city is being done to rather than engaged with in preparing transport proposals.
"We need a full review of transport policies with a view to tackling congestion in our city. This is something a Greater Oxford Council would do."
Campaign group Cyclox welcomed the proposals, saying Oxford's congestion had "reached crisis point".
"We can't leave things as they are; if nothing is done the city will grind to a halt under the weight of car traffic," it said.
"We cannot build more roads to magic congestion away."
Previously Oxford Bus Group warned that congestion was at "emergency levels".
The proposals will be discussed by the council's cabinet on 17 June and, if approved, a six-week public consultation would start later this month.
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
City traffic filters postponed by Botley Road delay
Call for city's traffic filter plans to be scrapped
Council urged for 'Plan B' to tackle congestion
Oxfordshire County Council
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Will US protests escalate amid more deployed ICE agents?
(NewsNation) — Leaders in some Democratic-led cities are bracing for an increased presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as demonstrations protesting the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies and ICE tactics continue across the country, with more planned for this weekend. Published reports on Wednesday stated that specialized ICE tactical teams would be sent to Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, New York and Northern Virginia after anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles reached a 'tipping point' with hundreds being arrested. More than two dozen protests nationwide this week have led to arrests as demonstrators rally against migrants being taken into federal custody. Federal officials insist ICE enforcement efforts will continue across the country despite the rallies, as advocates for migrant rights push back against what they say are deceptive practices being used by ICE. Inside largest ICE workplace operation in Omaha: NewsNation exclusive 'We will not be deterred,' Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NewsNation this week. More protests, including hundreds of No Kings events, are slated for Saturday amid reports that ICE is ramping up enforcement efforts, including during workplace raids in cities with sanctuary policies in place. That has raised concerns among some city leaders that clashes between federal agents and protesters, like those in Los Angeles, could spread. California Gov. Gavin Newsom predicted Tuesday that other left-leaning areas of the country could be targeted by the Trump administration by using similar tactics. 'What we have seen in Los Angeles is really not about immigration, this is not about policy, this is about power,' Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday. 'We have a tyrant in the White House that has a complete disregard for our Constitution and the dismissing of our democracy.' ICE is prepared to deploy Special Response Teams to several Democratic-run cities to continue to carry out immigration enforcement practices, according to NBC News. No timeline for the troops being sent to those cities has been laid out. ICE did not respond to a request for comment from NewsNation on Wednesday. However, Chicago city officials confirmed on Wednesday that they had been alerted on Tuesday that agents had been given notice that they would be sent out within the next 48 hours. Johnson said his main priority is keeping everyone safe and that the city's practice of 'constitutional policing' would continue. Johnson said that because Trump is 'determined to insert chaos', the city's response would be to 'provide calm and structure'. 'We have an absolutely criminalized approach towards governance, and this president clearly continues to show how low he will stoop in order to protect the interests of a handful of people,' Johnson said. Johnson said at a news conference that he has been in contact with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other leaders about a unified stance but said that the city and state are committed to protecting the right of people to assemble and to help preserve their constitutional rights. 2 charged for alleged Molotov cocktail possession at LA protests Johnson said that the city's strategic approach will remain in place Saturday when No Kings protests are scheduled both in Chicago's downtown district as well as in several suburbs. He said that demonstrators who act 'outside of their constitutional protections' would be held responsible and accountable. Johnson's comments followed demonstrations that took place in Chicago, where 17 people were taken into custody, including four who were charged with felonies, NewsNation affiliate WGN reported. No Kings organizers did not respond to an email from NewsNation seeking comment about plans to keep demonstrations safe amid concerns of increased ICE presence in cities like Chicago. Johnson said that the Chicago Police will continue to protect local residents and protesters alike while also adhering to the Illinois Trust Act, which prevents local officers from cooperating with federal immigration officials. But other city leaders hope that despite the tensions felt in places like Los Angeles, demonstrations can remain peaceful while getting their message across. 'The level of rage, the level of righteous anger that (protesters) might feel out there is genuine,' Chicago Ald. Andre Vasquez told NewsNation. 'So, trying to make sure that people don't feel further oppressed while also recognizing that there's clearly a strategy of having crowds look like they're chaotic is how the (Trump) administration is moving, it's very challenging to try to communicate that.' In New York City, where 86 people were arrested by city police officers on Tuesday during anti-ICE protests that involved about 2,500 participants, Mayor Eric Adams said that the escalation of protests in Los Angeles is 'unacceptable' and would not be tolerated if attempted in New York. 'I understand that some New Yorkers may be angry, afraid, and I understand, NYC will always be a place to peacefully protest, but we will not allow lawlessness,' Adams said, according to NewsNation affiliate Pix11. Earlier this week, 24 people were arrested during a sit-in at Trump Tower in New York, while seven people were taken into custody at another demonstration, three of whom were criminally charged. Yet with more protests planned in the coming days, city officials do not expect things to rise to the level they have in Los Angeles, an Adams spokeswoman told NewsNation on Wednesday. The spokeswoman said the city has not received any notification that additional ICE agents would be arriving in New York in the coming days. She added that the city does not anticipate involving the National Guard or the U.S. military being sent to New York, both of which have been called into action in Los Angeles by the Trump administration. The mayor's spokeswoman said that the city has made it clear to the federal government that no federal assistance is required to help maintain law and order and that city officials do not expect protests to escalate out of control. 'There's no invasion': California AG on Los Angeles protests 'What we're seeing in (Los Angeles) and what the feds are doing over there, we're not seeing that here. The NYPD has it under control,' she told NewsNation. 'The NYPD is literally prepared for anything.' Despite hearing rumors and media reports about ICE tactical teams being sent to Seattle, city officials told NewsNation on Wednesday that they have not yet received official word about increased federal agents arriving. In a statement sent to NewsNation on Wednesday, Mayor Bruce Harrell said that the city remains in close contact with the governor's and state attorney general's offices, as well as other local officials, to coordinate a response should ICE tactical teams arrive in Seattle in the coming days. Harrell called the Trump administration's actions in Los Angeles 'an extreme and egregious overreach of federal authority meant to escalate tensions' and to distract from the promises Trump hasn't lived up to. The mayor said he is working with Seattle's police department to prepare for any demonstrations that may arise. 'Seattle strongly supports the First Amendment rights of our residents, and we encourage residents to stand up for their values peacefully,' Harrell said. 'There is no room for violence. Violence and property damage are exactly what Trump wants to spin his false narrative of our city.' After anti-ICE protests took place in Austin and San Antonio and with more demonstrations planned, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced plans on social media to dispatch the Texas National Guard to those cities. Abbott wrote on X on Tuesday that the troops will use 'every tool and strategy' to help law enforcement maintain order. Abbott wrote that while peaceful protest is legal, harming others and damaging or destroying property will lead to arrests. Abbott's declaration followed a demonstration earlier this week at the state capitol building in Austin, which was attended by 500 people and in which local and state authorities used pepper spray and flashbang grenades. More than a dozen people were arrested, according to reports. This weekend's planned protests include No Kings demonstrations that are part of the nationwide collection of protests that decry the Trump administration's policies. The deployment of the National Guard, which will remain on standby, is an attempt to prevent civil unrest from taking place, an Abbott spokesman told NewsNation on Wednesday. 'Peaceful protests are part of the fabric of our nation, but Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles,' the spokesman, Andrew Mahaleris, said Wednesday. 'Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be swiftly held accountable to the full extent of the law.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Planet Normal: ‘The numbers don't add up' in Rachel Reeves' spending review
' What we saw today, in terms of the areas under her control, there are big question marks that need to be asked' On the latest Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player below, columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson discuss Labour's spending review with economist Gerard Lyons. Mr Lyons wasn't convinced by the numbers, ' Early in her speech the Chancellor said, is the plan credible, and the answer unfortunately is, no.' 'T he starting position is debt is very high, and I think we're in the early stages of Britain going into a debt crisis. If you're looking for good news, it might be that we're not the only country facing this problem; but today the Chancellor gave a speech that I think lacked a lot of the detail.' Allison is not convinced by the claims the economy is stabilising, ' We know it is not true, and we are already starting to see the impact on employment and on businesses. We know payrolls have fallen, that employment's fallen by over 250,000 since Rachel Reeves' budget. This is not an economy where you should be taking the gambles that she's taking. Where is the growth going to come from?' Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views from beyond the bubble. Listen on the audio player above or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The treaty Gibraltar wants, for the future we all need
For over five years, Gibraltar has been at the centre of one of the most complex, technical, and geopolitically sensitive negotiations undertaken by the United Kingdom and the European Union since Brexit. The process has consumed me. It has occupied close to half of my time in elected office, taken over almost every waking hour of the last five years, and, in truth, deprived the people of Gibraltar of their Chief Minister in the way they are used to having him, that is, from fixing housing and parking complaints to defending their sovereignty in the international arena. For much longer than I would have wanted, I have been behind closed doors, in physical or virtual boardrooms, working through the details of a document that will shape the next generation of our people. It has been a relentless, exhausting endeavour. Throughout this time, the UK and Gibraltar teams have worked together seamlessly, 'hand in glove', without a flash of daylight between us. We have worked in close partnership with both Conservative and Labour prime ministers and foreign secretaries; from Dominic Raab, Liz Truss and James Cleverly to David Cameron and now David Lammy. What we have negotiated is not the product of fragmented agendas, but the position of a unified British family determined to find a solution worthy of our people. Without a treaty, Gibraltar could be staring down the barrel of a hard border, marked by endless queues, disrupted supply chains, and a deeply uncertain future for many of our businesses. Our hospitals and elderly care homes would face chronic understaffing, and the surrounding region would suffer the almost certain loss of employment for many of the 15,000 cross-borderworkers who depend on Gibraltar's economy to support their families. The services we deliver to our people would all come under strain. Our public finances would be pushed to the brink. The self-governing Gibraltar we have built would be diminished, replaced by something poorer, more isolated, more inward-looking, and ultimately less able to thrive as a proud, British European Territory. Instead, we now stand at the threshold of something remarkable, and not just for Gibraltar, but also for the United Kingdom, for Spain, and for Europe and our people. Something bold. Something forward looking and hopeful. Something that finally breaks free of the negative inertia that has defined too much of our recent past. This is politics at its most elevated. The service-led principle of working for our people's benefit and not the performative personal antagonism that too often infects public life. Real, hard graft that overcomes challenges to deliver progress. This is the kind of result our people demand when they voice distrust and decry the political 'establishment'. Our Spanish and EU counterparts, for their part, have brought to the table a seriousness of purpose that also reflects the gravity of the moment. They, too, have recognised that this treaty is not merely about fluidity of movement, but about unlocking human and economic potential across borders. Make no mistake: the treaty that is now within reach is not one that the Gibraltarians have been forced to accept. Our people voted for us to have a mandate to turn our New Year's Eve agreement of 2020 into a UK/EU agreement/treaty. So we say 'yes' to this agreement, but not because we don't know how to say 'no' when we have to. We did so, emphatically, in 2002, when we triggered a referendum to reject Jack Straw's proposal of joint sovereignty with Spain, and I am just as adamant today that this treaty will not in any way compromise British sovereignty over Gibraltar. That will be set out, black upon white, in the treaty when it is published. It is a legal undertaking given by both sides in clear and unequivocal terms. So to be clear: in this treaty we have not ceded any control of Gibraltar to any authority. Just like today, only Gibraltar will decide who enters Gibraltar – exactly as we agreed in 2020 when Dominic Raab was foreign secretary and Boris Johnson was prime minister. This treaty unleashes the potential to usher in a new era. One in which we move beyond the tired narratives of the past on constant sovereignty disputes, towards a future defined by hope, cooperation and shared prosperity. It will pave the way for better jobs, more investment and lasting stability for Gibraltar and the wider region. It can deliver more harmonious human relations and a better quality of life for all our people. When you read it, I ask that you to look up from the pages of this treaty and see that better reality as it peers back at us from the future. This will be the treaty Gibraltar wants. It will be a treaty the UK and the EU can be proud of. And it will be a treaty that will propel us all to the better future politicians are elected to deliver. When the time comes, back Gibraltar and its proudly British people by backing the Gibraltar treaty. Fabian Picardo is the chief minister of Gibraltar Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.