3rd October 2022
Louth Town Council has re-arranged the public meeting to discuss the Louth Active Travel Scheme for Monday 17th October 2022, 6:30pm at St James’ Church, Westgate, Louth.
This meeting is to discuss The Active Travel Scheme, devised and implemented by Lincolnshire County Council and currently being trialled in Louth. Louth Town Council wish to gather everyone’s views to pass on to Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council so that the community can be involved in finding a way forward for the town.
Lincolnshire County Council has introduced a number of changes to Louth Town Centre as part of the Active Travel Scheme including removing parking bays from Mercer Row (a disabled bay has now been reinstated) and the Cornmarket, allowing pavement licences for tables and seating (café culture) all year through in the Cornmarket and introducing seating parklets on Mercer Row.
The Active Travel Scheme is part of the Government’s push toward sustainable transport development and it is supposed to encourage walking and cycling into town rather than driving. In Louth it is billed as an 18-month-long trial that sees the restriction of traffic along Mercer Row, in order to create a larger pedestrianised area feeding into the Cornmarket. According to Lincolnshire County Council the scheme is designed to slow down the pace of visitors to the town centre, making it easy for them to walk in, enjoy the businesses and to make the most of the great cafes and food services the centre of Louth is well known for.
In recent months, Louth Town Council has been made aware of the impact this scheme has had on traders along Mercer Row who have struggled through COVID and are now concerned that the reduction in footfall will make their businesses untenable, as well as difficulties that the scheme has caused by the lack of town centre parking bays for those with mobility issues.
The Town Councils asks everyone who has a view on the scheme to come along to the public meeting on Monday 17th October 2022, 6:30pm at St James’ Church, Westgate, Louth so that the Town Council can work with the community to move Louth forward.