Politicians accused of "turning Salisbury into the Wild West" by Extinction Rebellion
They held a small demonstration outside the Guildhall on Monday (7th December).
Last updated 9th Dec 2020
An environmental campaign group has accused three politicians of "turning Salisbury into the Wild West".
Extinction Rebellion took to the steps of the Guildhall to point the blame at MP John Glen, City Council Leader Cllr Liz Sirman and deputy leader Cllr Simon Jackson.
They believe those three were at fault for the suspension of the 'People Friendly Salisbury' scheme, just weeks after it was first installed.
The group say they were delighted when it was introduced with the promise of a reduced amount of traffic in the city centre.
They are now calling for the scheme to be reintroduced at an Extraordinary full council meeting on 14th December, where it's future is set to be discussed.
Graham Smith, Internal Coordinator of Extinction Rebellion Salisbury, told Greatest Hits Radio:
"First of all, we need to reduce the amount of traffic in the city for a number of reasons, which are; the pollution in the city, to make cycling and walking in the city so much easier, to help rejuvenate the city centre and finally we actually need to do it to help with social distancing.
I understand the businesses short term concern, I really do understand that but all the evidence from organisations like the charity Living Streets shows that it actually increases footfall in cities that implement these sorts of initiatives and actually increases spend as well so I do think this is the way to rejuvenate the city."
IT'S NOT THE END OF THE SCHEME
In response to Extinction Rebellion's action, Salisbury MP John Glen told Greatest Hits Radio that he wasn't calling for the scheme to be cancelled, but it just wasn't the right time for it.
He said:
"We need to do more to encourage people to walk and cycle in Salisbury. The ETRO/LTZ would have helped achieve this aim but it was an experimental scheme and Wiltshire Council planned to carefully measure the impact of the project on other roads such as the A36.
Due to the pandemic affecting traffic levels, this undermined the experiment and that is why I called for the scheme to be suspended until after the pandemic next year. 71% of businesses in the city centre also requested a suspension in the run up to Christmas.
As I told Wiltshire Council leader Philip Whitehead, this is a comma and not a full stop. I look forward to supporting a new scheme next year. It is also important that we secure wider public support and I have asked that we consult more widely with businesses and local residents next time."
Greatest Hits Radio have approached Salisbury City Council for a comment as well.