Oxfordshire Council calls critics of ANPR camera net zero traffic scheme 'conspiracy theorists'

A council has called critics of ANPR camera net zero traffic scheme 'conspiracy theorists' in video likened to a 'hostage video'.

In the 'dystopian' clip, Oxfordshire County Council chiefs defend a £6.5 million trial in Oxford that will create climate zones on six inner-city roads.

From 2024, car drivers in Oxford must apply for a permit to travel through the 'traffic filters' for a maximum of 100 days a year, or 25 days a year if they live elsewhere in the county.

The trial will run for at least six months and traffic filters will operate seven days a week from 7am to 7pm.

ANPR cameras will be used in the scheme that aims to tackle Oxford's congestion problem, drivers will be fined £70 if they are caught using the artery roads without permits.

Social media posts have misrepresented results from a consultation and spread claimed the scheme is leading to a 'climate lockdown'.

The Council also said they notified Thames Valley Police in December about the abuse its staff had faced.

The video is in response to social media posts such as one that claimed the council is going ahead with the trial despite 93 per cent of the survey’s 5,600 respondents rejecting the proposals.

The post seen by nearly 400,000 called it a 'consultation about the proposed climate lockdown'.

The council said the claim is false and is based upon a misreading of an analysis of results from a survey carried out between September and October 2022.

An independent summary of the survey that showed 7 per cent of respondents generally agreed with the scheme, and some mistakenly interpreted this to mean the remaining 93 per cent rejected it.

Still, thousands of angry residents have signed petitions and police have been called in over abuse directed at councillors.

Cllr Liz Leffman, the leader of Oxfordshire County Council, released a video expressing her 'extreme disappointment' at the 'misinformation'.

The council chief says: 'These conspiracy theories are causing real-world harm and need to stop – we have been receiving many calls and emails from worried residents in genuine fear that they might be locked in their own homes.' 

Cllr Leffman adds: 'We are not planning a climate lockdown or a lockdown of any kind.'

It cuts to Cllr Duncan Enright, the council's cabinet member for travel, who says 'they are not steel walls or electronic gates, they are simply traffic cameras that can read number plates'.

Cllr Enright stressed in the video that the filter trial will not 'stop people from visiting loved ones', as they can, for instance, use the ring road to access other suburbs.

Liam Walker, a Tory member of Oxfordshire County Council, likened it to 'a hostage video'.

'It took us all by surprise – the video itself was very poor quality and didn't really answer the questions around the scheme, it was completely dystopian and they both looked very uncomfortable delivering it,' he told The Telegraph.

Buses, taxis will be able to pass through the traffic filters freely at all times and there will be exemptions and permits for blue badge holders, emergency services, health workers and care workers. 

The council said in a post: 'The reason we have proposed these changes is because – as everyone who lives and visits Oxford knows – the city has had awful congestion for decades. This is damaging both our economy and our environment, and is making the bus network unviable.

'Our aim is to reduce traffic levels and congestion, make the buses faster and more reliable, and make cycling and walking safer and more pleasant.'