Public meeting called amid concerns over Louth's Active Travel Scheme

Louth Town Council is holding a public meeting on Tuesday September 13 from 6.30pm at the Royal British Legion Hall on Northgate to discuss The Active Travel Scheme amid concerns of the impact of local businesses by the scheme.

The Louth Active Travel Scheme is an 18-month-long trial that sees the restriction of traffic along Mercer Row in order to create a larger pedestrianised area feeding into Cornmarket in a bid to encourage the town’s café culture and manage traffic flow in the town centre.

As part of the scheme, new bespoke combination ‘Parklet’ units were placed in Mercer Row on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings by the county council in former parking bays, in a bid to encourage more pedestrians to slow down and enjoy the easier pace of the town’s café culture – but were met with criticism from local people both on and offline, with some comments calling the parklets an “eyesore”, “repulsive” and “a waste of money”, while others considered that sitting on a busy road was a “health risk”.

A spokesman for Louth Town Council said: “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 Council is asks everyone who has a view on the scheme to come along to the public meeting on Tuesday 13th September from 6.30pm at the Royal British Legion Hall, Northgate, Louth so that the Town Council can work with the community to move Louth forward.

"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.”