Bus gate that issued £500k in fines made permanent

A bus gate in Coventry, which issued 25,000 fines in half a year, has been made permanent.

Drivers face a £70 fine for breaching the restriction at Hales Street, which Coventry City Council introduced in June 2023 and brought in £500,000 in its first six months.

There are claims the move has added to pressure on local shops - and drivers have faced fines even when they have permits.

Cabinet member for city services Patricia Hetherton said the council had spent a lot of time consulting and appeared to have been responsive.

The bus lane operates from 10:00 to 18:00 every day except Sunday and is monitored by ANPR cameras.

A business owner objecting to the plans in January said Trinity Street outlets "have noticed reduced footfall" since the gate was introduced.

Vehicles have been hit with "countless fines" despite using permits, the proprietor said.

They claimed their business had been damaged as companies were no longer delivering to them and also said tradespeople had refused to visit.

'Teething problems'

Council officers claim the bus gate has helped reduce gridlock in the area and made buses faster.

At a meeting on Wednesday, an officer admitted there had been "teething problems" but claimed these were "now resolved".

Businesses could now apply for permits up to three days late, she said.

She admitted this was disputed by the objector and stated she had given them contact details for parking officers to talk through the new system.

A council report before the bus gate was brought in said many local outlets were food based and relied on delivery companies for their business.

The firms were "worried" about how the changes would affect them and the council had limited the lane's timing as a result, it added.

Ms Hetherton opted to back officer recommendations to make the lane permanent.

The authority's head of transport and innovation, John Seddon, said: "I think the fact that there has been one objection to making this order permanent shows this system seems to be working."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.