Bus lane enforcement camera to be switched off

14 December 2021

An enforcement camera monitoring the Weedon Road/St James’ Road bus lane in Northampton is set to be switched off at 5pm this evening (Tuesday 14 December).

The decision over the camera near the Westbridge petrol station was made by the Council’s Cabinet, and will see the camera turned off at 5pm today, following and subject to the Council’s legal process around its committee decisions, also known as the ‘call-in period’. Alternative locations for the camera will now be considered.

At their meeting on Tuesday 7 December, Cabinet also agreed to take the necessary steps to amend the operational hours of the bus lane from 24/7 to morning peak hours only of 7:30 to 9:30am and also to allow private hire cabs and licensed public scooters to use the bus lane, in addition to buses, cycles and hackney carriages.

The legal process to amend the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which must include a further consultation for people to have their say on the proposals, is expected to take about eight weeks.

If the new TRO is made the signage will be changed and the new hours of operation and exemptions will come into force at that point.

The Cabinet decision follows a public consultation which received 2,752 responses from residents, businesses and local organisations.

Feedback showed half of all respondents were in favour of the bus lane continuing to be enforced to some degree, but nearly two-thirds of those thought it should be limited to morning peak times.

Enforcement of the bus lanes has been in place since February, when the previous county council installed cameras at the Weedon Road/St James’ Road bus lane and at the Drapery, a bus and taxi-only street.

The decision by Cabinet does not affect the Drapery bus and taxi-only street, enforcement of which will remain in operation 24/7.

“Bus lanes play a role in making public transport easier and quicker for our residents, but we must ensure we get the balance right for everyone, listening and taking into account people’s views.

“The fact that we have decided to move the camera to another location, and begun the process of reverting back to the previous enforcement timings, reflects the many comments we’ve received. I hope people feel that they’ve been listened to and their concerns have been acknowledged.

“I would like to thank everyone who responded to the public consultation, whose valuable feedback helped us to reach this decision.”Councillor Phil Larratt, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste at West Northamptonshire Council

Full details of the decision can be found at item 10 on Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting agenda.

A recording of the meeting can also be accessed on our YouTube channel.