“What Oxford needs above all things is a good system of electric trams” says Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens.
In an exclusive interview with the Oxford Mail the erudite writer and commentator shared his thoughts on Oxford’s public transport systems and the expansion of the city.
The conservative rhetorician, 72, believes low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) are a secondary measure, and if the council wants to stop traffic going through neighbourhoods, then it needs to make it less necessary for people to use cars.
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He said: “I hate cars. I wish they’d never been invented. Civilization took a wrong turn with these motorised ox carts.
“But I understand why people have to use them. I’m sympathetic to people who have to make a living by driving a van and who are not rich. I think their lives are made very difficult by LTNs.
“This isn’t a personal outrage of mine; it doesn’t affect me. But these people in any case need to carry equipment around, it’s different.”
Mr Hitchens, a frequent panellist on Question Time, Talk TV and GB News, is in favour of creating a world in which cycling is normal.
He said: “The key to it is to create really good public transport. What Oxford needs above all things is a good system of electric trams.
“I could design it for them. Radiating from the centre out to the park and rides, and crossing over so that this ridiculous thing where the buses only go to the centre and you have to change, can be solved.
“Buses will never work because people don’t trust buses. Trams are more predictable, you know where they’re going. And trams have a romance about them which attracts people. Oxford needs trams.”
Mr Hitchens went on to praise Strasbourg, his favourite city, for the way its tram system “actually improves the old streets.”
Aggravated by the lack of direct services between certain, significant parts of Oxford, he added: “Isn’t it ridiculous that there’s no direct, regular service between the city centre and the John Radcliffe Hospital. It doesn’t exist.
“There’s also no direct service from the park and rides to the John Radcliffe, which is the biggest destination probably in Oxford.”
Oxfordshire County Council has been contacted for response.
When faced with a question about Oxford City Council’s 2040 Local Plan, which claims 25,000 more houses need to be built to accommodate for increasing demand, Mr Hitchens said: “Well they make these figures up.
“They don’t need to do it, they just decided to expand Oxford. In the end they will expand it out of existence. It will cease to be Oxford once it becomes too big. That’s my worry.
“If they want affordable housing then they should buy back the council estates. Oxford used to have really quite good council houses. If they’re worried about people not being able to afford living in the city; bring them back.”
In response, a spokesperson for Oxford City Council said: “Our Local Plan proposals are based on an independent assessment of the number of homes we'll need to sustain forecast job growth between now and 2040.”
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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.
Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1
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