The High Court has issued its decision on the paper permission stage of our Judicial Review. While permission was refused on the papers, this is not the end of the case. We now move to the next stage: requesting an oral permission hearing, where the arguments can be properly heard and tested.

We have now formally filed our judicial review claim with the High Court. Working with our solicitors at Bates Wells, and specialist public law barrister Charles Streetham of Francis Taylor Building, our permission application is currently under consideration by a High Court judge.

This marks a significant step forward in our challenge. While we await the court’s decision on permission, the scheme is already having real and damaging effects on residents, workers and businesses across Oxford. Legal action of this nature is costly, and further funding is urgently needed to see the case through.

At the Oxfordshire County Council meeting on 4 November 2025, a motion to end the Oxford Congestion Charge was rejected — despite clear evidence of the harm it is causing. Directors of Open Roads for Oxford addressed councillors directly, presenting data showing that the Council’s own targets for reducing traffic and pollution have already been met, and warning of the growing economic damage to local businesses. Their speeches called for honesty, accountability, and leadership — but the Council refused to listen.

On 21 October 2025, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) issued its formal response to the pre-action protocol letter we sent them on 7 October 2025.

While the Council’s 17-page letter formally replies to the issues raised, it fails to meaningfully address the core legal and evidential concerns at the heart of our challenge. OCC insists that its decision to approve six temporary congestion charging points was lawful, proportionate, and based on “a fair and effective consultation” - claims which are simply not supported by the facts.

On 7 October 2025, represented by Bates Wells, we issued a Pre-Action Protocol letter to Oxfordshire County Council.

This marks the formal first step in seeking Judicial Review of the Council’s decision on 10 September 2025 to implement six temporary congestion charging points across Oxford.

ORFO believes that the Council’s approach was procedurally flawed and substantively unjustified, and that Oxford deserves policies based on evidence, transparency, and genuine public engagement - not predetermined decisions.

Collaborating with other local interest groups including Reconnecting Oxford to create as robust a consultation response as possible, ORFO submitted a 45-page response to OCC’s consultation on the Congestion Charge scheme, setting out a large number of serious, evidenced concerns.