Oxfordshire County Council responds after anti-LTN sign appears

The sign was put up on the side of Café Coco by owner Clinton Pugh, a well-known restauranteur and the father of Hollywood actress Florence Pugh.

The passionate sign describes Cowley Road as the city’s “most diverse and unique road” and called the LTNs an “ill thought out traffic experiment”.

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Mr Pugh previously supported street pedestrianisation, which saw him granted a street cafe licence in 2007 for his two restaurants - Cafe Coco and Kazbar – so he could set up tables and chairs in Dawson Street.

However, the businessman has slammed the LTN scheme as negatively impacting businesses on Cowley Road and wider East Oxford.

Mr Clinton has erected the sign on the side of Cafe Coco (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Pugh’s billboard states that 95 per cent of businesses in the area have seen footfall and turnover drop.

“They cannot survive without customers coming from other parts of the city and county,” the sign reads.

As well as a scathing attack on the LTN scheme itself, the billboard also contains a QR code which leads people to a GoFundMe page which is raising money to challenge the project. 

In response to the sign's appearance, the county council has said it is unable to pass an official comment. 

An Oxfordshire County Council spokesperson said: “Oxfordshire County Council has not yet received a legal challenge regarding low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs).

"We cannot comment on that at this stage.

“The consultation for the experimental east Oxford LTNs is open until the end of 30 November 2022 and we encourage people to share their views and any concerns with us by visiting letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/east-oxford-ltns-2022.”

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This story was written by Sophie Perry. She joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.

You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @itssophieperry

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