There are plans to divide Ealing into seven local zones. Sanctions can be used to restrict the number of days per year that you are allowed to drive anywhere outside your own zone.
Ealing Council says that it is currently consulting on a plan which references the idea of “20 minute neighbourhoods”, but this plan does not involve any restrictions on the use of cars.
Oxford’s plans will restrict how many days a year you are able to leave your zone in your car.
While Oxford residents may be fined for driving on specific roads without a permit at certain times under the city’s proposals, they won’t be prevented from leaving their neighbourhood by car entirely and will be able to drive to every part of the city when they want, though this may involve taking a different route.
A Facebook post has shared a photo of some notices opposing plans to develop “15 or 20 minute cities” in the London borough of Ealing.
The “15 minute city” is an urban planning concept which aims to create areas where residents can reach basic essentials within 15 minutes, either on foot or by bike.
Plans to implement this concept are being considered in a number of cities, including Paris and parts of London. However, a similar scheme under consideration in Oxford has been the subject of widespread misinformation online, which we’ve previously written about, including claims that 15 minute cities are actually intended to confine residents to specific neighbourhoods by restricting where they can travel.
One of the notices shown in the Facebook post claims that a 15 minute cities plan in Ealing would divide the borough into “7 Local Zones”. It also claims: “Sanctions can be used to restrict the number of days per year that you are allowed to drive anywhere outside your own Zone.”
Full Fact contacted Ealing Council about these claims, and it told us that while the council is currently consulting on a new local plan which does reference the idea of “20 minute neighbourhoods”, its plan does not involve any restrictions on the use of cars.
A council spokesperson said: “Our concept of a 20 minute neighbourhood is that residents will no longer live in dormitory towns with no access to local services, shops and amenities.
“It’s about giving people the opportunity to shop, eat and enjoy green spaces in neighbourhoods within a 20 minute round trip of their homes without having to for example, drive or get a bus or tube into the city centre.”
The council’s draft plan references seven ‘towns’ which comprise the borough (Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale and Southall), and the idea of “20-minute neighbourhoods”, saying: “With access to safe cycling and local transport choices, the goal is to enable people to fulfil the majority of their daily needs within a 20-minute roundtrip walk from their homes.”
However at no point does it mention restrictions on car travel or a “loss of choice” over where and when residents can travel, as the poster suggests.
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The Facebook post shows another flyer claiming that, in Oxford, people will be restricted to how many days per year they will be able to leave their zone.
This isn’t the case.
Oxford City Council is proposing the introduction of traffic filters which would see fines issued to drivers who drive on specific roads at certain times of the day without a permit.
However, the council has said in a statement that “residents will still be able to drive to every part of the city at any time” adding “in the future, during certain times of the day, you may need to take a different route (e.g. using the ring road) if you want to travel by car”.
Image courtesy of Des Blenkinsopp
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context A notice shared on Facebook claims that Ealing council plans to divide the borough into “7 Local Zones”.
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