Issue - decisions

Red Route - Route 17 (Central Section)

06/10/2021 - Red Route - Route 17 (Central Section)

The Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report proposing that the central section (town centre) of the Red Route, which was currently in place with an ‘experimental’ Traffic Regulation Order, was made a permanent Order. The experimental Order would end in January 2022.  Plans showing the amendments that had been made to the Red Route during the ‘experimental’ period were attached to the report at Appendix 1 and objections and other feedback to the Red Route experimental Traffic Regulation Order were attached to the report at Appendix 2.

The report stated that within the first six months of implementation, the Council had received feedback primarily from town centre businesses with concerns about loading difficulties.  Officers had met with representative from the town centre businesses and Reading UK CIC to discuss and understand the concerns and to then consider options to overcome some of the challenges that they were facing.  Minor modifications to the experimental scheme were implemented in January 2021 and primarily consisted of additional loading facilities being made available in addition to other elements to ‘tidy’ the restrictions on street and contained within the experimental TRO.  Since implementing the minor modifications the Council had received no further objections.  The further six month minimum period of further consultation had ended in July 2021 and the experimental TRO would expire in January 2022.

The report explained that making the experimental TRO for the central section of the Red Route into a permanent TRO would retain the range of restrictions that were currently in place, which had overcome initial objections and concerns and the benefits that the enhanced enforcement opportunities brought in terms of the local area and to current revenue income.  There was no further opportunity for alteration to the experimental TRO and a deferral to this decision would risk insufficient time being available to carry out the necessary processes to make the TRO permanent, prior to it expiring in January 2022.  Once the experimental order was made permanent, future alterations to this section of the Red Route restrictions might be considered in the Waiting Restriction Review programme, following a six week embargo on any statutory consultations, following the making of the TRO, this would enable any legal challenges to be received.

Resolved –

(1)     That the report be noted;

(2)     That the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to carry out the necessary legislative an regulatory processes to make the experimental Red Route Traffic Regulation Order into a permanent Order;

(3)     That no public enquiry be held into the proposals.