Tories behave like an occupying power in Oxford

4.30.00pm GMT Tue 7th Feb 2006

Commenting on the county council's proposed Local Transport Plan, Cllr Alan Armitage has accused the Conservative administration of "behaving like an occupying power in Oxford". Cllr Armitage, who represents West Central Oxford, added, "There is not a single Tory county or city councillor elected in Oxford, but the administration intend to force their ideas on us, whether we like them or not. They make it clear that they don't care one jot what people in Oxford think."

Cllr Armitage quoted a passage from the preamble to the Transport Plan which says that "the car is and will continue to be the predominant mode of travel". He explained, "This is simply not true for many communities in Oxford, where cars are already a minority interest. When they start with such a fundamental misunderstanding, the Tories inevitably come to conclusions which are just not appropriate in Oxford."

The Draft Local Transport Plan 2006-2011 has recently completed a period of consultation, which produced a comprehensive rejection of many parts of the document by Oxford City Council' scrutiny committee and executive board. Organisations including the Oxford Pedestrians Association and individuals, have added their objections to many of the assumptions made.