Stop Oxford's 'Congestion Charge' and traffic filters

From November 2025, Oxfordshire County Council plans to impose a £5-a-day "temporary congestion charge" on six key roads in Oxford. It will hit just as the crucial Christmas season begins, threatening the survival of independent businesses and placing unnecessary financial burdens on residents, workers, and vulnerable groups.

We cannot let this happen – there is something we can still do to fight this! Help us stop this scheme from going ahead by supporting our legal challenge.

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In more detail…

Oxfordshire County Council is pressing ahead with plans to impose a so-called ‘temporary congestion charge” in Oxford by 10 November 2025. This £5-a-day scheme - effectively tolls on six key city-centre roads - is not a standalone measure. It is the direct precursor to the Council’s traffic filter scheme, which will replace the £5-a-day charge with £70 fines as soon as the Botley Road reopens in summer 2026.

The Council has chosen to launch the scheme on the eve of the crucial Christmas trading season, risking devastation for Oxford’s independent businesses. Car-borne customers are not incidental; they are essential - carrying shopping, making significant purchases, and sustaining the city’s cultural and retail life. Driving them away will decimate trade at the very moment when survival or closure is decided.

And this is not only about businesses. More and more evidence shows the scheme’s discriminatory and disproportionate impacts: on older people, on lower-income households, and on those with complex mobility and access needs.

The wider premise is seriously questionable. Traffic levels are already below the targets set for the Council’s original traffic filter scheme, yet the Council is still forging ahead with the congestion charge on the basis of modelling which appears to be profoundly flawed.

The consultation was rushed and not well publicised, the results effectively ignored and we believe the decision predetermined. A massive 74% of respondents indicated that the overall impact of the scheme would be negative, with 82% of those saying the impact would be very negative; and 66% of respondents were against any congestion charge whatsoever.

These aren't just numbers - they're the voices of families, workers, and businesses screaming that this policy is unfair, burdensome, and utterly misguided. Yet, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, Cllr Gant, has dismissed them, claiming that many negative consultation responses were based on people misunderstanding the scheme.

In multiple respects the Council has flouted the most basic standards of fair consultation - the Gunning Principles. We cannot let them get away with this.

That is why we have come together as Open Roads for Oxford Ltd - a new organisation uniting businesses, residents, and community groups in a single campaign. Building on the foundations laid by the Oxford Business Action Group (OBAG), and the tireless efforts of other resident and campaign groups with whom we continue to work closely, we are determined to use every political and legal avenue available to prevent these damaging schemes from being imposed.

We have tried everything possible to avoid legal action. We and others have spoken at many council meetings, submitted detailed consultation responses (you can read ours here ), and engaged directly with councillors and officers. Yet the Council has ignored the evidence and made the decision to press ahead regardless. That is why legal action is now our only remaining option - and we must act now.

We know there is huge public support for this fight: thousands of residents have already signed a petition and made their voices heard in the consultation. If everyone who supports us gave just £10, we would have the resources we need to take this to court - and if you are able to give more, your generosity will make an even greater difference.

Your donations will fund:

This is a fight for the future of Oxford. If we act now, we can stop these punitive schemes from going ahead. Together, we can protect our city’s economy, culture, and community from irreversible harm.

Please give what you can - and share this appeal with others.