Labour opens door to ‘Stalinist’ 15-minute cities across Britain
Traffic restrictions for motorists will promote walking and cycling in city centres
Labour has approved a rollout of “Stalinist” 15-minute cities across the UK, The Telegraph can reveal.
Ministers have said that they will allow councils to use driver licence databases to impose fines on drivers who fall foul of “traffic filters”, which restrict driving in certain areas.
The controls on motorists, which are to be implemented for the first time in Oxford city centre later this year, have been described as “perverse” by motor groups.
The 15-minute city is based on the idea that a person can access amenities within a quarter of an hour by walking or cycling. In some cases, this could result in traffic restrictions being brought in for drivers.
The most high-profile example of such a plan is in Oxford, where the council put forward proposals to divide the city into six “15-minute neighbourhoods”.
Under the scheme, drivers would need a residents’ permit that allows 100 days of free travel per year through six traffic filters during operating hours.
Meanwhile, a separate permit allows 25 days of free travel per year through six congestion charge locations during charging hours, and after this, drivers face fines if they travel without the relevant permission.
Greg Smith, shadow transport minister, said: “This is the blueprint for a national rollout. Labour has given the green light for draconian councils like Oxfordshire to police how people live, move and drive, using cameras and fines backed by DVLA data.
“Oxford is the test case, but this is Labour’s blueprint for the country.”
‘A page out of the East Germany playbook’
Duncan White, director, of the Alliance of British Drivers said 15-minute cities were an “abomination”.
He said it was a “perverse” and “Stalinist” approach to social control, adding: “It is an encroachment on civil liberties, and it is a page out of the East Germany playbook.
“With the 15-minute city, you will have to, in effect, apply for an internal passport to go and visit your granny. From a civil liberties perspective, it is nonsensical. From an operational point of view, it is bizarre.”
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: “What local authorities sometimes struggle to remember is that the car remains and continues to remain the main method which people use to travel around our country.
The Telegraph: continue reading
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