Horse-drawn carriages not returning to Oxford

Councillors have rejected plans to allow horse-drawn carriages back into Oxford’s city centre amid concerns about animal welfare and traffic congestion.

The planned route would have taken 30 minutes; however, Dene Stansall from Animal Aid said that the cobbled stretch on Merton Street would “cripple a horse”.

The man who would have been in charge of running the service, Kevin Merry, has been dealing with horses for more than 30 years and he told the BBC that the welfare of the horses was “of great importance”.

He also went on to add that the carriages would only pick people up and drop them off in Broad Street. And they would go a different route to the scenic bus tours which are currently operating gin Oxford, as to minimise the disruption to traffic.

Councillors have also expressed concerns over horse droppings. Mr Merry told the BBC: "The thing is, there's just two horses pulling one carriage, it's not like the Trooping of the Colour, and they will be cleared up."

Horse consultant Mr Stansall described the plans as "ill-thought through".

Mr Merry said he had run his horse and carriage business for more than 10 years and that carriage rides gave the tourist "a novel and pleasurable way to see the city's sights in style".

He then added that he had "over 30 years' experience of working with horses" and that a proportion of his profits had been donated to a charity working with “maltreated horses”.

The decision was made by the full council, which voted 27 against and 16 in favour, on Monday  (19/12/2011).