Here are the FIVE changes which could be made soon to the controversial Voi e-scooter scheme in Northampton

Here are the five key change which could be made to a controversial e-scooter scheme in Northampton.

Voi e-scooters have become a divisive topic in the town over the last three years, with some in favour of the green-friendly scheme and others absolutely detesting the extra traffic on the roads.

Major incidents include deaths, transportation used prior to a murder, life-changing injuries, road traffic collisions and more.

Between December and January, West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) overview and scrutiny committee sought feedback on the Voi e-scooter scheme, which has been in operation since 2020.

The consultation received more than 3,000 responses, resulting in a list of recommendations, which will now be presented to WNC's cabinet at their meeting in March.

Here are the five key recommendations:

• Thorough review of speed controls and restricted areas.

• Implementation of new technology to prevent twin riding and riding on the pavement.

• Efforts to improve visibility at night and use in the dark.

• Review and improvement of the complaints and feedback procedure.

• Exploration of governance, enforcement, and further education on micro-mobility.

Councillor Alison Eastwood, the vice chairman of the place overview and scrutiny committee, said: "The micro mobility scheme provides an affordable and sustainable travel option for people across West Northamptonshire to enable them to get to and from work, education and enjoying local services.

"I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the survey and share their views with us. It remains clear that safety is a core priority- including the safety of riders and other road and footpath users. We will now work with Voi to create a road map on how we can deliver these recommendations for the local community."

Criticism

Labour councillor Emma Roberts [Delapre and Rushmere ward] says she is ‘deeply disappointed’ with the outcome and criticised the public consultation.

The opposition councillor said: “The group was given just six weeks to conduct the review, which is nowhere near enough time to properly collect and analyse the evidence and advice we received. Scrutiny panels should set their own agenda and timings, not pander to the administration it is supposed to scrutinise. We absolutely could have had a little bit more time. Now we have a final report that is contradictory and doesn't reflect the strength of feeling on the issue.

“The hurried execution of the review also led to troubling discrepancies. I was concerned that the leader of the council [Jonathan Nunn] was allowed to address the panel as an 'expert' just because he uses Voi e-scooters in his personal life. Reports that the council sends to the Department for Transport (DFT) on the number of e-scooter incidents were also kept from us.

“We were not presented with enough evidence to support the final report's decision that the Voi trial in Northampton 'meets, and in certain cases exceeds' the DfT's safety requirements. Nor did we properly address the suitability of Northampton's infrastructure to support e-scooters, as the report claims.

“The trial will now continue as before and will likely be extended for another two years, despite more than one-in-six responders to the public survey saying they wanted it stopped. Once again, we will have to wait for the government to enact legislation, which is not expected soon.

“I asked the panel and chair to include a final recommendation to cabinet that they conduct a public consultation at the end of the current trial on whether to proceed with it, so that the people of West Northamptonshire have their say. This was not accepted by the panel, but I urge cabinet to consider it when the time does come."