Plans to close York Street for 12 hours daily approved by inspector
An inquiry on the idea was needed after a formal objection was upheld
Bath and North East Somerset (Banes) Council's wish, to close a street in central Bath to traffic for anti-terror means has been granted by a planning inspector, despite opponents claiming the council has been dishonest about its intentions.
The council wants to have York Street shut for 12 hours a day and has always said the idea forms part of its wider "ring of steel" proposals, to seal off much of the city centre to vehicles in a bid to prevent terror attacks.
An inquiry on the idea was held in April after a resident upheld a formal objection that it would restrict access for business owners, while others, despite not formally objecting, complained that it would limit disabled access and that they were not adequately informed of the council's idea.
However, releasing his decision, inspector Rory Cridland concluded that there is a "clear and compelling case" for introducing the traffic order and considered it to be proportionate.
Not proceeding with the traffic order, he said, would “materially undermine the council’s overall approach to security in this part of the city.”
He also said the council had carried out an extensive consultation.
Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for Transport, said: “I am very, very pleased at the decision reached by the inspector which upholds our decision to close York Street and which also acknowledges this as a proportionate response.
"I am also delighted that the inspector acknowledged the council’s extensive consultation particularly on the work to balance the needs of disabled users with the need to protect the city centre from terrorist attack.
“I was very pleased to see the high level of support this scheme received from the police, residents, and businesses and am delighted that their views were given weight against the individual requests of one objector.
"This has been a costly inquiry however we will now follow the process of closing York Street and work to install protective measures to reduce risks associated with vehicle-borne threats posed by terrorists and criminals."
The central argument for closing the road, presented by the council at the inquiry, was that Avon and Somerset Police believe it is necessary to protect the city centre from terror attacks where vehicles are used as a weapon.
However, during the inquiry back in April the objector, business owner Hannah Downey, pointed to various letters written between the police and the council, which appeared to suggest that the closures of York Street, Cheap Street, Westgate Street and others, were not originally supported by the police.
In the first letter, written by then Chief Constable (CC) Andy Marsh and dated February 21, 2020, CC Marsh recommends an Anti Terror Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO) that "would be permanent but of a contingency nature," which would cover a vast area of Bath city centre including Bath Rugby's ground at The Rec and Bath Spa train station.
CC Marsh also notes that while there is no legal requirement to publicise the idea, he believes that the council should do so and notes that the council have agreed to that.
In a reply written five days later on February 26, the chief executive of BANES Council Will Godfrey says the council is also keen on an "inner core" featuring road closures enforced by barriers and asks CC Marsh to recommend such a plan, so that the council could consult on both the inner and outer ATTRO's at the same time.
In another letter dated March 4, 2020, CC Marsh does recommend such an inner core, saying he does so after seeking advice from Counter Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSAs) and the Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI).
Despite the council's assurances in the letters, to date no public consultation has been held on the idea of a wider secure zone of a "permanent but of a contingency nature".
For that reason, during the inquiry Mrs Downey alleged the council had in fact never planned to reveal that idea and instead merely pursued the inner core because it will allow them, in her view, to largely ban vehicles from the city centre, which fits with their green agenda.
We spoke to Mrs Downey after the inquiry ended.
"It's (her objection) absolutely not about not protecting Bath," she told us.
"It's absolutely about protecting more of Bath and I think actually what it's really about is the fact residents were consulted on something which wasn't actually what the police initially wanted."
We were told we were being consulted on something that wasn't quite as transparent as it should have been," she said.
"my gut instinct is...that the motive for closing these particular roads in the city centre is for getting rid of vehicles in the city centre.
"It wasn't about our security, it was about clean air, because if it was about our security first and foremost, then they would have implemented the wider security ring that the police initially suggested."
The inspector’s report notes that no disability groups maintained a statutory objection and that evidence indicated that the council was able to address and or resolve the majority of the concerns raised regarding access for disabled groups and users.
During the inquiry the council asserted that it had written to all blue badge holders to inform them of the plans, but that was disputed by several members of the public in attendance who said they had not received any such letter, despite holding a blue badge.
However, the inspector stated that, “no evidence was offered to back up this assertion and on the evidence before me it appears that the council has gone to great lengths to seek to address the concerns raised.
"Indeed, it seems that a considerable amount of thought has gone into how to balance the needs of disabled users with the need to protect the city centre from terrorist attack," he writes.
He also noted” Overall, I consider the proposals to be fair and equitable and any disadvantages to persons with disabilities, including BB holders, have been minimised. Having considered the matter in the round, I am satisfied that the public sector equality duty has been adequately met.”
Under the scheme blue badge holders are permitted to park on Cheap Street, Westgate Street and Upper Borough Walls on double yellow lines for a period of three hours, subject to space being available, via controlled access.
Details about the inquiry and the inspector’s report are available to view here.