Updated Southampton City Council is to reopen Bedford Place to vehicles on July 19.

• Bedford Place: evening-only traffic closures future possibility

 

The council says it follows the outcome of a recent survey of businesses along the road that found 57% of respondents are in favour of “seeing it reopened”.

A section of Bedford Place was pedestrianised in August last year “as part of a temporary hospitality scheme to create additional space for outdoor seating and to support compliance with social distancing guidelines”.

Street tables in Bedford Place

Cllr Jeremy Moulton (Con), deputy council leader and cabinet member for growth said: “This is a balanced approach which, alongside other safety measures planned for the area, will support our pledge to get Southampton moving while ensuring that visitors investing in our economy can move around safely and easily.”

Cllr Satvir Kaur (Lab), leader of the opposition, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The best way we grow our economy is by making our city and places like Bedford Place a destination, giving people opportunities to stay, sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. It’s a shame the Tories are determined to get Southampton moving backwards rather than forwards.”

She claimed local communities and users want the scheme to stay in full.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Southampton Street Space, which campaigns for safer, healthier, more liveable streets, said: “Bedford Place is, and has always been accessible to people arriving by any means of transport. This decision to reverse the pedestrianisation and once again allow through access for motor vehicles is short sighted and damaging, especially just as the summer is really starting and the area would have become fully appreciated.”

Carlton Place and Lower Banister Street are to remain pedestrianised as part of the ongoing trial, with a final decision regarding these roads to be made later in the year.

There’s more information on the council’s transport website.

• Bedford Place: evening-only traffic closures future possibility

Artwork in Carlton Place

Updated 16/6/21 to include comment from Southampton Street Space

Additional reporting by Maria Zaccaro, Local Democracy Reporter