Unpopular 'car crash' scheme to ban drivers from Northgate will not return promises Wakefield Council

A city centre street won’t be closed to cars again after Wakefield Council admits plans for pedestrianisation were a “fiasco”.

Traffic was briefly banned along Northgate last year to encourage cafe-bar style outdoor dining, but was later scrapped after complaints from businesses.

Council leader Denise Jeffrey admitted the scheme was a “car crash” and branded the decision to shut the road as a mistake.

Ms Jeffrey has now confirmed that there are no plans to reintroduce the pedestrianised zone, which extended from The Bullring to Cross Street, but hinted that the scheme could be rolled out to other areas with “careful consideration”.

She explained that some consultations for pedestrianised areas around Wakefield are on-going, with Wood Street one of the areas being considered.

The proposal comes as Cross Square in the city centre has recently been fully pedestrianised at the request of cafe owners who wanted more space to spread out.

However, while the area has been hailed a “fabulous” transformation, it is unlikely the scheme will be rolled out to many more parts of the city.

Speaking during a Facebook Q&A session run by the council on Tuesday (28 September), Ms Jeffrey said: “We need to be very careful with pedestrianisation.

“There is some talk about perhaps doing part of Wood Street so cafes can open there, but whatever we do, it will have to be done with care and proper consultation.

“Because it was the wrong thing to do in Northgate and I don’t want to be responsible for that again.

“Cross Square was a great success but anything else will proceed with caution, but I think it’s really unlikely that we will do much more.”

Why was the Northgate scheme scrapped?

While the pedestrianisation of Northgate was only introduced on a temporary basis, the scheme was quickly scrapped last year after complaints from businesses.

Ms Jeffrey admitted that the decision was a “fiasco”, saying the scheme was a “car crash”.

She explained: “I went and visited every shop owner in Northgate and I took responsibility for that.

“It was a car crash and it was dreadful, and I put it back within a couple of weeks.”

The road was reopened following the backlash, with Ms Jeffrey saying she was determined to support businesses in the area, particularly after such a difficult year due to the coronavirus pandemic saw bars and cafes forced to close for several months.

Speaking at the time, she said: “I have listened to our businesses and it is clear that this is not working for them.

“Times are tough enough for businesses at the moment and I am determined to support them.

“The temporary pedestrian area was created with the best of intentions by those involved.

“I understand it was expected that it would take some time to get established but after talking to businesses, it is clear that demand is not yet at a level where extra space is needed, so this is not the right time or right action to take.

“Tackling the unprecedented challenges of the coronavirus means taking some risks and looking at how we can approach things differently.

“Some ideas will work, but where they don’t we will listen and make it right.”