EXCLUSIVE Fury as cash-strapped Oxford council splurges nearly £10,000 in taxpayers’ money on COLOURING BOOKS for children promoting city’s hated new 20mph speed limits

A cash-strapped council has been slammed for wasting taxpayer’s money after it spent nearly £10,000 on children’s colouring books promoting the county’s new 20mph speed limits.

Oxfordshire County Council, which began reducing the speed of 30mph roads last year, issued the colouring packs – made for children between the ages of five and 11 – to 88 primary schools in early November. 

The ’20 is plenty’ activity kits contain word searches where children have to find buzz words used to describe the benefits of the speed limits, such as ‘safer’, ‘cleaner’ and ‘greener’, and paper to draw out ‘the benefits of 10mph speed limits’.

It also includes a sheet of stickers with 20mph road signs surrounded by love hearts and a spot the difference puzzle with one sketch containing a 20mph road sign while the other has a 30mph road sign.

Conservative councillor Liam Walker blasted Lib Dem-Green council’s ‘completely ludicrous’ use of public funds and called on it to ‘put the crayons away and instead focus on its job of running council services’.

Oxfordshire County Council has been criticised for spending almost £10,000 on colouring books for school children promoting its new 20mph speed limits 

Across the county, 234 new speed limits have been rolled out or will be imposed soon to Oxford city, as well as surrounding towns and villages

The county council has £150,000 spent on advertising the new speed limits at petrol pumps and on social media

He told MailOnline: ‘This is yet again more financial waste from the coalition pumping so much of our money into this failed 20mph pet project.’

Callum McGoldrick, researcher of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: ‘Town hall bosses should put the brakes on this spending at a time when households are struggling.’

READ HERE: Eco council’s dirty little secret: How local authority is making life miserable for motorists as part of its climate change mission… while fuelling 387 of its 420 vehicles on DIESEL 

The council’s cabinet member for transport management, Lib Dem councillor Andrew Gant confirmed at a meeting that £8838 had been spent on the colouring and activity packs. 

A further £1106.40 was spent on delivery. 

Across the county, 234 new speed limits have already been rolled out or are soon to be imposed across Oxford city centre, as well as surrounding towns and villages. 

The revised road restrictions were introduced across the county earlier this year and more reduction are planned in a bid to make roads safer, less congested and reduce air pollution. 

It comes as part of a wider movement to slow down roads across the UK, with 28million drivers living under local authorities where 20mph speed limits are in place or set to come in.

In Oxfordshire, £8million was allocated in February 2022 to change road speeds across the area over the next three years.

Since then Mr Walker said £150,000 was spent on advertising the new speed limits at petrol pumps and on social media.

The speed reduction in Oxfordshire (pictured Witney) comes as part of a wider movement to slow down roads, with 28million drivers living under local authorities where 20mph speed limits are in place or set to come in

The activity kits contain word searches where children have to find buzz words used to describe the benefits of the speed limits, such as ‘safer’, ‘cleaner’ and ‘greener’

Conservative councillor Liam Walker blasted Lib Dem-Green council’s ‘completely ludicrous’ use of public funds

The council’s cabinet member for transport management, Lib Dem councillor Andrew Gant confirmed that £8838 had been spent on the colouring and activity packs. A further £1106.4 was spent on delivery

Last month it was revealed that the council was forced to fork out £11,000 to make the newly imposed 20mph road signs in Witney, west Oxfordshire, bigger following reports that the reduction was being repeatedly ignored by motorists. 

READ ALSO:  How Oxfordshire became UK’s most ‘right-on’ county with vegan-only menus and an OUTSIDE smoking ban – as locals blame London second-homers for turning it into ‘drippy hippy central’

Mr Walker added: ‘£8million being spent on changing the road signs, £150,000 on 20mph petrol pump adverts, £11,000 on making signs bigger in Witney as people weren’t complying, and now just under £10,000 on colouring books for kids.

‘What a complete waste of taxpayers money that could have been spent on special educational needs, fixing potholes, or building a rocket to send this coalition of chaos to the planet they belong on. 

‘I’m fed up of this constant waste of our money right before they again hike up our council tax to the highest legal amount. Enough is enough.’

It comes as residents within the city are facing a rise in council tax bills after councillors warned of a ‘diabolical’ financial situation. 

Cllr Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member said: ‘Engaging with children can often be an effective way of reaching parents on issues of health, safety and amenity.’

A spokesperson added: ‘These activity packs are a way of engaging with thousands of primary schoolchildren around the county on the issues of road safety, including the introduction of 20mph speed limits in areas where communities have requested it, and the promotion of active travel. 

‘The campaign has proved popular so far, and includes a competition to design posters which will be displayed in their local areas to promote the benefits of 20mph areas – especially for children.’

It is not the first time that the council – once dubbed Britain’s ‘wokest’ county by critics – has come under fire.

The local authority, that claims tackling climate change is a priority, faced a wrath from businesses in Oxford after it introduced a series of controversial Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes.

Oxfordshire farmers previously rallying outside the Oxfordshire County Council’s County Hall over its decision to only serve vegan food at council events 

Ex-Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson whose famous Diddly Squat Farm shop is just down the road openly opposed the council’s plans for vegan-only food to be served 

Florence Pugh’s father Clinton Pugh, who owned various restaurants on the Cowley Road, previously blasted the council for its controversial Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme

Earlier this year, a private school blasted the scheme claiming that teachers had resigned or refused to accept job offers saying the LTN had led to gridlock mayhem.

READ HERE: Why should Florence bail me out? Florence Pugh’s father says he’s being forced to sell his three restaurants because LTN traffic-calming scheme is killing off his business 

The £20,000-a-year Magdalen College School said traffic had become so bad that a nine-minute bus journey would take almost an hour, while journeys by car take 30 minutes longer than before.

Florence Pugh’s father Clinton Pugh, who owned various restaurants on the Cowley Road – one of the streets impacted by the scheme – said the hated traffic calming measure had wrecked his business blasting the council as ‘bullies’.

In October the council was accused of hypocrisy after it was revealed that 387 of its 420 vehicles are diesel-powered, despite it urging constituents to take up active travel or use public transport where they can in a bid to reduce cars in the city.

Just one its vehicles ran off petrol, none were hybrid and only 32 are electric.

And in a move that was sparked fury from Oxfordshire farmers – including ex-Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson whose famous Diddly Squat Farm shop is just down the road  – the council banned all meat products from meetings.

In March it said it would only be providing ‘plant based options’ for town hall events in what was described as a ‘kneejerk reaction’ and a ‘kick in the teeth for farmers.’

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