Extension to Newbury Town Centre pedestrianisation hours

Activity closed.

Background

West Berkshire Council continues its commitment to undertake a trial of extended pedestrianised hours in Newbury Town Centre, as planned in our Council Strategy 2023-2027.

Currently, Newbury's town centre streets: Northbrook Street, Bridge Street, Bartholomew Street (north), Mansion House Street, Wharf Street, and Market Place, are pedestrianised with no vehicle access from 10am to 5pm. The proposed trial would extend this to between 10am and 11pm.

Map of the area:

The anticipated benefits of extending the pedestrianised hours are to:

• Boost the local economy by making the town centre more attractive to visitors, encouraging longer stays, and increasing footfall for businesses
• Enhance the environment by offering a more pleasant atmosphere for outdoor dining and public events, with less pollution and reduced traffic in the town centre surrounding areas
• Improve safety by reducing the interaction between motor traffic and pedestrians or cyclists
• Encourage active travel by creating a more walkable and bike-friendly town centre

To implement the trial, we need to make a legal order, called an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO), to restrict traffic during the extended time period.

Why we want your views

In order to make an ETRO, we must apply to the Secretary of State for Transport and show that our proposal is supported by the local community. We are therefore asking residents, businesses, visitors, and road users whether they would support extending the time that Newbury Town Centre is pedestrianised from 10am to 5pm to 10am to 11pm.

How to take part

If you'd like to tell us your view, please complete our survey by midnight on Tuesday, 5 November 2024. It should take about five minutes.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email our Economic Development Team 

For general enquiries about roads, transport and parking in West Berkshire, visit our roads, transport and parking webpage.

What happens next

All responses will be taken into consideration and should there be local support shown, we will apply to the Secretary of State to make an ETRO. If approval is granted, a six-month detailed consultation will begin during the official trial, helping us decide whether to make the extended pedestrianisation hours permanent, make changes, or go back to current arrangements.