Decisions to permanently close five local bridges to traffic are confirmed by Newcastle City Council today (1 February) as part of the council’s commitment to reduce traffic cutting through local streets and improve local neighbourhoods for the people who live there.Vehicles have been restricted from using Salters Bridge in Gosforth, Dene Bridge on Castle Farm Road next to Jesmond Dene, Haldane Bridge in South Jesmond, Argyle Street bridge in Ouseburn, and Stoneyhurst Road Bridge in South Gosforth for just under 18 months, to re-allocate the road space for walking and cycling as part of the council’s response to the pandemic and in line with government’s expectations of councils and local policies to promote active travel.Cllr Ged Bell, cabinet member for development, neighbourhoods, and transport said: “We’re committed to creating safer, cleaner and greener neighbourhoods and the closure of these bridges to traffic is a part of achieving this. “We recognise that public opinion has been split on this, as it often is with measures that prioritise or provide more space for active travel. The closure of some bridges to traffic have been more warmly welcomed than others, but we believe it is the right thing to do to create better neighbourhoods which put people first.”Cllr Clare Penny-Evans, cabinet member for climate change and public safety said, “The principle of this programme is really simple and is something we want to roll out across the city. Neighbourhoods should be places people can access by vehicle if they need to, but being able to cut through local streets means people do that, and it makes our neighbourhoods more dangerous. “Salters Bridge is a perfect example of this, where we saw many large HGVs navigate over a weak medieval structure, which we had to repeatedly issue warnings on. The closure of this bridge has stopped those vehicles thundering through quiet streets, making the area safer for everyone, particularly for children who can have a sense of playing in their local streets just as many older residents did, before streets were taken over by vehicles.”Cllr John-Paul Stephenson said, “We’ve seen the report on air pollution around schools and the dreadful health impact poor air quality can have on children. It is initiatives such as these that will encourage more people out of their cars to walk and cycle on local journeys and improve everyone’s health.”Cllr Bell added, “We’ve taken the time to thoroughly review the impact of the closures on local communities and I am satisfied that keeping the bridges closed to traffic supports our policies on transport, tackling air pollution and improving public health, as well as meeting our statutory duties.“We will press on with our plans to expand more of these initiatives across the city and introducing School Streets following successful trials. Thousands of people will have received leaflets recently in areas across the city inviting them to raise issues in their local areas so we can include them in our thinking. These types of schemes are important as they ensure local streets are designed for people, and not dominated by vehicles, cleaning up our air and improving our health and wellbeing.” Using Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs), the council re-allocated the road space for people walking and cycling last August, due to the many schools and amenities in the local areas and the environmental and health benefits this brings. A public consultation ran in the first six months of the closure which generated 42,000 contributions. These were used to inform the decision-making process, alongside other factors such as traffic levels on surrounding streets, traffic speeds, how many people have been using the bridges for walking and cycling and air quality where monitors are in place. The review concluded that all five bridges should remain permanently closed, with the potential for some further minor works near Stoneyhurst Bridge to address the concerns of people living east of the bridge. This work includes improving the visibility from Dene Crescent onto Haddricks Mill Road as well as potentially introducing a one-way system on four of the surrounding streets.All of the bridges reported good levels of walking and cycling in the area while the impact on the surrounding road network was manageable and there was no indication of a negative impact on road safety. Discussions have also taken place with emergency services which only raised a potential issue with the closures of Argyle Street Bridge, but following further work those concerns have been addressed.As a follow up to the closure to the bridges, further proposals for low traffic neighbourhoods in Arthur’s Hill, Fenham and Heaton were launched in November, for people to feedback on any potential issues they may foresee ahead of the council implementing changes in early 2022. Comments received from residents are currently being reviewed, which will inform the final designs of the scheme. The council are working on a rolling programme of low traffic neighbourhoods across the city with further schemes to be released in the coming weeks, including Jesmond, Shieldfield, West Fenham, Kenton and Ouseburn Valley.Reports setting out the Delegated Decisions for each of the five bridges is published at Argyle St - <a href="https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10801">https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10801</a> Haldane - <a href="https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10799v">https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10799</a> Dene Bridge / Castle Farm Rd – <a href="https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10798">https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10798</a> Stoneyhurst - <a href="https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10802">https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10802</a> Salters Bridge- <a href="https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10800">https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=10800</a> Further information on low traffic neighbourhoods can be found at <a href="https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/neighbourhoods "> www.newcastle.gov.uk/neighbourhoods</a>

Council confirms traffic restrictions on five local bridges to be made permanent

An interim report on the findings of a public consultation on the closure of five local bridges to vehicles is released today (Wednesday 17 March) by Newcastle City Council.Vehicles have been restricted from using Salters Bridge in Gosforth, Castle Farm Road next to Jesmond Dene, Haldane Bridge in South Jesmond, Argyle Street bridge in Ouseburn, and Stoneyhurst Bridge in South Gosforth since last August, as part of the council’s commitment to reduce traffic in local areas and create more liveable neighbourhoods where people are prioritised over cars.Using Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs), the council re-allocated the road space for people walking and cycling, in part due to the many schools and amenities in the local areas and the environmental and health benefits this brings. Under ETROs, public consultation must take place within the first six months of the closure, although the changes can remain in place for up to 18 months with a decision needed in that time.The public consultation generated a considerable response and the council are keen to stress that the consultation isn’t a referendum based on numbers for or against, but on gathering the public’s feedback and experience of the closures.The interim report, written by an independent researcher, sets out the findings from the consultation, which generated over 42,000 contributions about the closure of the five bridges to vehicles via all consultation channels, including the public consultation site on Commonplace. A further 3,385 contributions were received via social media and Let&#39;s Talk Newcastle. Over 1,000 contributions were received via a petition and a Liberal Democrat Councillor conducted independent survey - relating specifically to Stoneyhurst and Dene bridges. The vast majority of people gave their views to the consultation only once. Though in relation to the closure of the bridge on Stoneyhurst Road, a small number of people made multiple representations.Key findings from the public consultation include:Argyle Street Bridge•	The closure of Argyle Street Bridge to motorised traffic was felt to be largely effective in supporting walking and cycling, with a majority of responses across both the formal ETRO correspondence and online Commonplace contributions feeling that this closure to motor vehicles should remain in place permanently.Dene Street Bridge•	The closure of Dene Bridge to motorised traffic was also often felt by many who took part to be effective in supporting walking and cycling, with a majority of responses across the online Commonplace contributions praising the closure and suggesting that this closure should remain in place permanently. ETRO responses were slightly less positive, with a majority opposing the closure of the bridge to motorised traffic though it should be reflected the number of representations for each position was very similar. Haldane Bridge•	The closure of Haldane Bridge to motorised traffic attracted a mixed response. Felt to be largely effective by a small majority of ETRO responses, it was felt to be less effective across the online Commonplace contributions.Salters Bridge•	The closure of Salters Bridge to motorised traffic also attracted a mixed response. It was felt to be effective by a small majority of those who submitted formal ETRO responses, it was felt to be less effective across the Commonplace contributions.Stoneyhurst Bridge•	The closure of Stoneyhurst Bridge to motorised traffic attracted a notably more critical response than any of the other bridges. Both formally, and online the majority of responses to this consultation were critical of the closure to motor vehicles and believed the bridge should be reopened to vehicles.In the majority of the consultations people only contributed one written response. However, in the consultation about Stoneyhurst Bridge a number of people chose to make repeated representations. In this consultation for example, the three people who responded to the formal consultation the most, were collectively responsible for 13% of the 362 written representations (46 formal written responses).At a high level, the different comments and concerns raised are explored in the summary report and a more in-depth report is being prepared for each bridge. This will help to inform the long-term decisions on the future of all bridges.Cllr Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality said: “We would like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation. As we have said previously, this isn’t a referendum on whether or not to keep the bridges closed or where only the loudest voices are heard. There are many more factors that need to be considered.“A lot of the negativity towards the schemes have been about people feeling inconvenienced, but we need to look at the bigger picture. This is about creating more liveable neighbourhoods that are people-focused, as we have set out in our ambitious plans for the city centre, and reducing polluting traffic on our local streets is a key part of this.“With less traffic cutting through local streets, neighbourhoods are much safer and attractive places for the people who live there, for children to play, and this also encourages more people to walk and cycle on short local journeys - which is crucial to clean up our air and meet our net zero carbon targets. “The feedback from the public is incredibly important in developing more liveable neighbourhoods – where people are prioritised over traffic. People have taken the time to tell us their views and it’s really important that we listen to what they’ve said and review this thoroughly before making long-term decisions. We expect to be in a position to do this from late-May onwards.“Through the bridge closure programme, we have set out our clear commitment to reducing traffic in local areas - creating cleaner, greener and safer neighbourhoods and we look forward to expanding this programme to other areas of the city.”None of the fake accounts and comments identified last month on the independent consultation platform have been included in the report.The bridge closures will remain in place while the council conducts a full review of the public consultation, as well as considering other factors such as traffic levels on surrounding streets, air quality, traffic speeds, how many people have been using the bridges for walking and cycling, air quality where monitors are in place, responses to the legal orders and feedback from statutory consultees, including blue light services, before making a final decision in the coming months.Each bridge will be reviewed on an individual basis, due to the unique characteristics of each bridge and location, which may mean the long-term future on some bridges may be decided sooner than others.An in-depth analysis on the consultation will be released alongside the final decisions which the council expect to start releasing from early summer.Read the initial reports on the consultation and the ETRO process below. <a href="https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/commonplace-customer-assets/safenewcastlebridges/Safer%20Newcastle%20Bridges%20-%20Summary%20Report%20-%20March%202021.pdf">Safer Newcastle Bridges - Summary Report - March 2021.pdf</a> <a href="https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/commonplace-customer-assets/safenewcastlebridges/Safer%20Newcastle%20Bridges%20-%20Summary%20Report%20-%20March%202021.pdf"> <a href="https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/commonplace-customer-assets/safenewcastlebridges/ETRO%20Themes%20FINAL.pdf">ETRO Themes FINAL.pdf</a> </a> <a href="https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/commonplace-customer-assets/safenewcastlebridges/Safer%20Newcastle%20Bridges%20-%20Summary%20Report%20-%20March%202021.pdf"></a> <a href="https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/commonplace-customer-assets/safenewcastlebridges/Safer%20Newcastle%20Bridges%20-%20Summary%20Report%20-%20March%202021.pdf"></a>

Council releases initial report on bridges closure consultation

A leading councillor has attacked an attempt to alter the results of public consultation on bridge closures across the city through the use of fake profiles.The public consultation closed on Monday. When analysing the data, the council and the provider of the consultation platform found that 1,894 fake accounts had been set up in an attempt to skew results against the bridges being closed to vehicles.The council and the platform provider took swift action to remove 7,131 faked comments, as well as a further 176,036 agreements, which were used to strengthen public sentiment for the bridges to be re-opened to traffic in order to feed the genuine responses into the decision-making process.Cllr Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality at Newcastle City Council said: “It’s hugely disappointing that some people would seek to alter a consultation process by acting in this manner. “This was a malicious attempt to disrupt a genuine conversation with the public on issues that affect people’s neighbourhoods and quality of life. To attempt to drown out the voices of people who genuinely gave us their views, either for or against the proposals, is disrespectful and will not be tolerated.“We would like to reassure the public that we have taken swift action to remove the false accounts and representations made. We would also like to clarify, that the consultation process isn’t a referendum, it is about actively engaging and listening to the public on how changes in local neighbourhoods affect them.“There are a number of factors we need to consider alongside feedback from the consultation, including responses from the emergency services, on the long-term decision on the closures and we will set out our next steps soon.” The fake accounts were spread across all five bridges which include: •	Salters Bridge, Parkland•	Castle Farm Road, Dene and South Gosforth•	Haldane Bridge, South Jesmond•	Argyle Street Bridge, Ouseburn•	Stoneyhurst Bridge, Dene and South GosforthThe five bridges were closed to traffic in August, as part of the council’s response to the pandemic in order to aid social distancing as well as meeting the demand from residents for better walking and cycling facilities. As part of this, a six-month consultation took place which closed on 15 February.As part of the consultation process, people could make multiple comments on the closures and these will still be considered.The council’s independent consultation provider has cleansed the data and an interim report will be published in the coming days. The remaining nearly 10,000 comments will be used as part of this.The council has confirmed the bridge closures will remain in place until a full review is carried out, including results of public consultation, as well as considering other factors such as traffic levels on surrounding streets, air quality, traffic speeds, how many people have been using the bridges for walking and cycling, air quality where monitors are in place, responses to the legal orders and feedback from statutory consultees, including blue light services, before making a final decision within the coming months.

Councillor’s anger at attempt to hijack public consultation

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