Council bosses have been accused of “dither and delay” over a failure to remove the bollards on Gosforth High Street.
City transport chiefs announced last September that they would finally be getting rid of the heavily-criticised poles that had lined the high street since 2020. New designs for how the busy route could look were due to be released by the end of 2022 and the changes made early this year – but, as February begins, there has been little sign of progress.
Local Lib Dem councillors now claim to have been told by civic centre officers that a planned public consultation on the street’s long-term transformation has been “kicked into the long grass”. However, the local authority insists that the bollards will still be removed soon and has promised to share its vision for the high street’s future “in the coming weeks”.
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The bollards were installed after the Covid pandemic hit as a means of giving more social distancing space to pedestrians and cyclists, cutting the road from four lanes to two. But they have been widely condemned since, having been branded ugly and confusing – though the local authority has said data proves there has been only a “minimal impact” on queuing traffic.
Rather than going back to the old layout when the bollards are removed, the council announced last year that it instead wanted to widen the pavements to make room for new seats and planting to create a more “people-friendly” area.
Gosforth Lib Dem councillor Tom Woodwark said: "We have been negotiating with officers for months about what should happen to the high street. Everyone agrees the bollards need to go, but we've been arguing for a proper plan to get Newcastle residents from A to B safely and quickly, however they travel, in a way that supports the local businesses to thrive.
"The council agreed our motion in November, committing to urgent action and meaningful engagement with residents. We were led to believe plans would be published publicly before the end of 2022, with initial implementation in early 2023. Now we've been told the council doesn't want to talk to local people any more, and the timescales for whatever plans they do have are unclear.”
Parklands ward councillor Christine Morrissey added that she was “utterly fed up with the dither and delay” and that a failure to resolve the situation would mean “more boarded up shop fronts” and worsening traffic congestion. But Labour said it was “simply not true” that it was not talking to locals about what should happen to the high street and that it was “important that we take the time to get it right”.
Coun Jane Byrne, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “As we set out last year, we will implement a scheme for Gosforth High Street in early 2023 and we stand by that timescale. Our position remains that we want to see a scheme in place that improves bus provision, removes the bollards and improves the look and feel of Gosforth High Street, making it greener, much more pleasant and accessible.
“We’ve had lots of discussions with ward councillors, residents and bus operators to finalise the designs for this high street, so to say we’re not engaging with people is simply not true. This ongoing engagement has resulted in the designs taking longer than originally anticipated to share with the public, however we felt it was important that we take the time to get it right.
“We have offered a meeting with the opposition to discuss the designs and that offer of a meeting remains on the table. We’ll be sharing the designs in the coming weeks and the public will be invited to have their say.”
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