Oxfordshire County Council has approved a daily £5 congestion charge for drivers without a resident permit who pass through one of six checkpoints in Oxford, a measure set to begin no later than Nov. 10 that local shopkeepers say will further reduce customer footfall and risk livelihoods.
Drivers who do not pay the charge will face a £70 penalty, council documents show. The charge is described by the council as a temporary measure until planned traffic filters are introduced; those filters are not expected to be operational until Botley Road reopens, currently scheduled for August 2026.
Business owners and residents who oppose the measure said they have already seen fewer customers since the introduction of low-traffic neighbourhoods in May 2022, and warned the new charge could be the "final nail in the coffin" for some firms. Yola Brunelli, who runs the La Cucina restaurant on St Clement's Street, said Saturday bookings often fall away as customers struggle to navigate traffic measures.
Clinton Pugh, a restaurateur and campaigner against the scheme, said councillors had "completely ignored the concerns of the majority of citizens and businesses" and attributed substantial personal losses to previous council measures. A council survey of 7,165 respondents found 74% believed the overall impact of the congestion charge would be negative, according to campaigners.
A residents' group calling itself Open Roads for Oxford has engaged lawyers and said it will send a pre-action protocol letter, preparing to launch legal action if the council does not reverse the decision. Paul Major, a business owner who helped set up the group, said the council showed a "complete lack of engagement" on implementation and how it will affect residents and trade.
The county council has offered residents in Oxford and the wider Oxfordshire area 100 and 25 passes respectively, a figure included in council communications about the scheme. The council has said the temporary charge is intended to manage traffic while long-term measures are prepared; it approved the scheme at a meeting on Wednesday.
Local business leaders and campaigners framed the decision in historical context, noting Oxford will be the first UK city to introduce a mandatory local congestion charge in more than 20 years, following earlier schemes in Durham and London in the early 2000s. Council officials have said the filters and other traffic-management measures that will determine the scheme's permanent form are contingent on infrastructure work and road reopenings.
Council statements issued alongside the decision reiterated the objective of reducing through-traffic and improving local air quality, while acknowledging the disruption the temporary charge may cause. Opponents have said they will pursue all available legal and political avenues to challenge the policy and are urging the council to engage further with business and community representatives as implementation proceeds.
The dispute adds to a broader national debate over local traffic management, where authorities balance congestion, air quality and accessibility for residents and businesses. With the charge due to begin in weeks, Oxford businesses and campaigners say they will watch closely for further council guidance on exemptions, enforcement and the timetable for the traffic filters that are set to follow.