Town Bans Cars from Its Centre for a Year

The small town of Kettlebury has become the first in the country to close its entire centre to private cars for a full twelve months. The experiment, which began on Monday, was approved by the council last spring after two years of heated debate. Under the scheme, only buses, taxis, delivery vehicles and residents' cars are allowed on the six streets that make up the historic centre. Everyone else must park in one of three new car parks on the edge of town and walk or take a free shuttle bus. Cameras have been installed to identify vehicles that ignore the rules, and drivers who do so will be fined £70. The council says the aim is to reduce air pollution, which had reached illegal levels on the main street for three years in a row, and to make the centre a more pleasant place to spend time. "People told us they had stopped coming into town because it was noisy and unpleasant," said council leader Margaret Okafor. "We want to give the streets back to them." Not everyone is convinced. Several shop owners argue that customers who cannot park outside will simply drive to the retail park on the motorway instead. "If my regulars can't pull up outside, they'll go elsewhere," said Tony Barnes, who has run a hardware shop on Mill Street for thirty years. "The council hasn't listened to the people who actually keep this town alive." Similar schemes in other European towns have produced mixed results. In some, trade in the centre rose by up to a fifth within two years as cafés and restaurants took over the space that had been used for parking. In others, footfall fell in the first months and never fully recovered. The council has promised to publish visitor numbers, air quality data and business turnover every three months. If the results are poor, the scheme could be abandoned before the year is out. If they are good, the council intends to make it permanent — and other towns are watching closely.