Public turns against low traffic neighbourhoods as ‘anti-car lobby’ penalises drivers

‘Roll back’ controversial restrictions that make life ‘too difficult’ for motorists, say senior Tory MPs

ByCharles Hymas, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR   20 May 2023 • 8:00pm/ The Telegraph 

 (LTNs) and councils that target motorists, polling has suggested.

In a survey of 2,118 people by Electoral Calculus, 57 per cent said Parliament, councils and mayors should not set rules that make car owners drive less.

Similarly, 51 per cent said politicians are making life “too difficult” for motorists and oppose measures such as LTNs, low emission zones, curbs on car parking spaces and congestion charging.

The figures prompted senior Tory MPs to urge the Government to rein in “anti-car” schemes and introduce legislation to stop them if necessary. 

The Department for Transport (DfT) is already excluding LTNs from central government funding.

'Roll back'

Craig Mackinlay, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Fuel UK Motorists, said measures like LTNs were ostensibly designed to improve the environment but simply led to “chugging” traffic which increased pollution.

“We should roll back these measures and legislate if necessary to stop these schemes being implemented at local level and not make it any worse ourselves with additional taxes on fuel,” he said.

The research showed more than a third (34 per cent) of people oppose LTNs, compared with 19 per cent in favour. 

More than four in 10 (42 per cent) opposed congestion charging and low emission zones, with only 17 per cent and 18 per cent respectively supporting them.

The biggest opposition focused on parking, where more than half (58 per cent) opposed reductions in spaces for cars, compared with just four per cent who supported them