Portsmouth City Council says it won't press ahead with Active Pompey Neighbourhood in Southsea if plans are opposed

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PROPOSALS to create the first Active Pompey Neighbourhood are progressing, but the city council has confirmed it will not continue any scheme if it is opposed by people in the area.

The council has not drawn up any detailed designs for the zone, which will cover a square bordered by Goldsmith Avenue, Albert Road, Fawcett Road and Bath Road, saying these would be guided by the results of consultations.

‘We have not made any decisions yet,’ cabinet member for transport Lynne Stagg said at a consultation event at Priory School on Thursday. ‘This will be entirely led by residents, even whether we go ahead with it at all.’

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Although these schemes are typically known as low traffic neighbourhoods, including by the charity Sustrans, the council uses the name Active Pompey Neighbourhoods, partly due to negative connotations connected to the term.

The consultation into Active Pompey Neighbourhood at Priory School in SouthseaThe consultation into Active Pompey Neighbourhood at Priory School in Southsea
The consultation into Active Pompey Neighbourhood at Priory School in Southsea

Similar projects elsewhere in the country, which typically have restricted access by installing planters to stop through access, have proven controversial with opponents forcing many councils to scrap scrap theirs.

But Cllr Stagg said the scale of the Southsea scheme, combined with the amount of consultation being carried out, made it different.

‘We are going to make sure anything is supported by residents,’ she said. ‘That's why we're running such an in-depth consultation and have been speaking to businesses to find out what is wanted.

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‘We want something which will be supported by people in the area and will improve their quality of life.’

A survey was launched earlier this month and its deadline for submissions has since been extended to November 20.

The aim of the scheme is to reduce the amount of non-local through traffic and encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport.

Sustrans said they also prioritised emergency service vehicles, speeding up their journeys, despite criticism around many other schemes that they blocked access.

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The council’s deputy leader Suzy Horton, the ward councillor for Central Southsea, said the move had been proposed in response to concerns raised by people living in the area over several years.

She said: 'There are three main issues and they are all long-standing: the use of these roads as rat runs, speeding and traffic stand-offs on residential roads.

‘This is a very cramped residential area with three schools but it's also an area where we have tried these sorts of things, including the first play street and the first school street.

‘We need to make it safer for people going to school and for people walking and cycling while also making sure people can get to their home with their car. It's about dealing with that non-local traffic.’

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The consultation period is due to end in March after which potential proposals will be drawn up, but detailed designs are not expected until after May's council elections.

Funding would also have to be found for the project with nothing having been allocated by the council beyond the initial consultation and design work.

Should a scheme be progressed, it would require a traffic regulation order to be agreed, requiring a second phase of consultation which includes the emergency services as a statutory consultee.

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