Newbury pedestrian scheme still not decided
West Berkshire Council is remaining tight lipped about Newbury town centre pedestrianisation survey results.
It says it has ‘another 18 months’ to decide if the move to stop traffic in the town centre will become permanent.
Local John Gotelee, a regular thorn in the side of the council, wanted to know why the results of the Newbury Town Centre pedestrianisation trial six month survey hadn’t been made available to the public.
“I do wonder why that is?” he asked. “We are talking about the extension of the pedestrianisation which most of the time has been totally ineffective. Nobody is going to be sitting out in the rain. Are we going to see the results of the survey?”
Justin Pemberton, economic development portfolio holder, totally rejected the claim of failure, saying that more and more businesses were putting out tables and chairs, and that figures showed an increase in footfall and spend since the trial began.
A pre-trial survey on extending Newbury town centre pedestrianisation hours from 10am–5pm to 10am–11pm revealed mixed public feedback, with 58.5 per cent of respondents opposing the proposal and 36.7 per cent supporting it. Despite this, the trial began last May with a six-month formal consultation.
“There is always going to be a bedding in effect when change happens,” said Mr Pemberton. “What our businesses want is a certainatly of what comes next. We haven’t made a decision and that shows how seriously this administration is taking what to do next.”
The trial began on 19 May 2025 and will continue until a decision is made by the council regarding making it permanent, which is expected in spring 2026.
While the formal consultation period for the first six months ended on 19 November 2025, the restrictions remain in place while the council assesses the feedback and data collected.
“The fact that we haven’t made a decision yet, and we have 18 months to do that, shows just how seriously we are taking it,” Mr Pemberton added. “There is still a lot of work to do about what this looks like if and when it becomes permanent.”
He was also quizzed on whether the scheme was ‘a success for cafe culture’.
“Your question is an interesting one,” he said. “In defining success there is subjectivity here. Do you mean the amount of outdoor seating occupied? Are you referring to social utility? Are you talkng about the number of hours our residents visit bars and restuarants? Or are you talking about spend? On that point, what I would say is that food and drink is our largest retail sector within Newbury accounting for nearly 27 per cent of all recorded spend.
“Despite the challenges and feedback we have had during the pedestrianisation consultation we have seen a slight increase on year on year sales thourghout the summer of 2025.
“The data we commissioned through the Newbury Bid also suggests there was a significant increase in visitors from outside Newbury and Thatcham, so 36 per cent of that spend was from them.
“We absolutely are seeing progress in terms of the number of businesses coming to Newbury town centre.”
He said the council has seen more and more businesses offering outdoor seating in recent weeks too.