I’ve closed my restaurant because of ULEZ – council bosses are petty dictators, says Florence Pugh’s dad

THE Sun’s Give Us A Brake campaign is fighting for beleaguered motorists.

Our five-point manifesto which stands up for 34million drivers includes a ban on expansion of low-emission zones in London and nationwide.

And we are calling for an end to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods where the public objects.

We visited five cities where locals are being driven mad by anti-motorist rules. Here’s what they had to say . . . 

OXFORD

‘People have stopped coming to my cafe as they can’t drive here’

HOLLYWOOD actress Florence Pugh’s dad is a victim of Oxford’s low-traffic neighbourhood scheme.

Businessman Clinton Pugh has a bar and a restaurant and says he has had to close his Cafe Tarifa after council bosses banned vehicles in parts of the city from February 2022, to encourage walking and cycling.

He put up a huge billboard protesting against the road schemes – and was threatened with fines for doing that too.

Oxford also has a zero-emission zone where only electric cars are allowed for free. Drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles have to fork out up to £10 – doubling to £20 in 2025.

Oppenheimer star Florence used to work at Clinton’s cafe and the 65-year-old, delighted that The Sun is campaigning for motorists, said: “People don’t want to come here any more, staff do not want to come around here. Who wants to be stuck in traffic for hours? Who wants to spend hours looking for a space to park?

“It’s the small people who suffer, those who need their car to go to work, the mothers who need to drive their kids around.”

GLASGOW

‘My mum-in-law has to drive me into the city now’

A LOW Emission Zone came into force in June. Drivers of pre 2006 petrol and diesels made before September 2015 are hit with a £60 fine – halved if you pay in 14 days.

The penalty doubles every time there is another breach, costing car drivers up to a maximum of £480 or buses and HGVs up to £960.

Low emission zones in Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh will all come into force in 2024.

Teacher Heather Salvona, 44, pictured, says of driving in Glasgow: “I don’t agree with them creating a policy forcing people to buy a new car they can’t afford.

"It is a money-making scheme. I have to get my mother-in-law to drive me and my children into Glasgow as my car is not compliant.”

Taxi driver George McIntosh, 66, from Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, says: “The zones are ridiculous. It’s just another tax on the poor and it’s wrecking the city.

"They’re discouraging people from coming into the city centre.

“The average age of a taxi driver owner in Glasgow is over 65 and they want them to spend over £60k on an electric car.”

NEWCASTLE

‘The police can’t patrol the streets due to bollards’

THE city has four low traffic neighbourhoods.

One launched in Jesmond in March is still in operation despite concerns from police and complaints by 4,000 residents.

Locals claim the bollards blocking off streets add at least 25 minutes to journeys and lead to lines of angry drivers trying to pass through the leafy suburb.

Surveyor Hannah Solley, 29, pictured, says: “You see gang members in balaclavas on electric scooters and bikes because they can zoom through the bollards. The police can’t patrol the streets like they used to and emergency services can’t get around.

“I went to take my clothes to the dry cleaner’s and what should have taken ten minutes took an hour and a half. I was almost in tears by the time I got there. I was so frustrated.”

IT consultant Murali Krishna, 42, lives in Heaton where bollards have been used to block roads.

She says: “Councils should consult residents to see if they have made things better or worse for locals. ”

CANTERBURY

‘I have to drive for work but I’m punished for it’

LOCALS in the Kent cathedral city fear a “barmy” plan to divide it into five driving zones and fine motorists for crossing boundaries will be resurrected.

The experiment modelled on Ghent in Belgium was recently scrapped.

Restaurant owner David Lewis, 51, says: “It was madness. I was very worried about it. It would have clobbered the locals.

“It would have devastated me. We all need to do more for the environment but this is not the way. It would just punish hard-working people. I’m backing The Sun for sticking up for motorists.”

Teacher Ian Wallace, 40, pictured, says: “The Sun’s campaign is brilliant. It’s just what the country needs.

“We all need to do more. But look at China and India. Why should the people of Canterbury be hit in this way? I have to drive for work and to take my family out and about. I shouldn’t be punished for that.

“Eco-targets are causing real hardship for people up and down the country. It’s not fair.”

BRISTOL

‘Charge targets poor who can’t afford new cars’

SINCE last November older petrol and diesel cars and vans entering Bristol’s city centre Clean Air Zone have had to pay £9 – or a fine of £120 for non-payment, halved if paid within 14 days.

Bank worker Robert Husband, 26, pictured, says: “The new charge targets the poor.

“They can’t afford newer cars which are exempt and electric cars are so expensive with the cost of living crisis going on.

“It’s just unfeasible for a lot of people.

“It’s good to get pollution down but does it really make a difference to the entire planet? I don’t think so.”

Sun reader John Richards, of Caerphilly, South Wales, entered the CAZ returning from Bristol Airport and six weeks later was hit with a penalty notice.

He says: “I was caught on camera entering a zone which outsiders from Bristol know nothing about. So I paid the fine.

“They are just robbing the motorists.

“That’s the last time I will ever go to Bristol Airport.”