Florence Pughs father forced to sell cafe where We Live in Time star used to work after councils Low Traffic Neighbourhood killed trade
The father of actress Florence Pugh has revealed he has sold one of his cafes in Oxford following a row with the local council over Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNS) which he has decried as a war on motorists.
The father of actress Florence Pugh has revealed he has sold one of his cafes in Oxford following a row with the local council over Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNS) which he has decried as a war on motorists.
Emotional Clinton Pugh blamed the sale of iconic Cafe Coco on Oxfordshire City Council for its ill thought out traffic calming disaster.
The businessman became embroiled in a bitter row with two of his local councils over what he deemed a war on cars, saying road closures and other environmental measures had decimated his takings.
It led to him having to take a handout from Oscar-nominated daughter Florence, 28, who recently starred alongside Andrew Garfield in the romance We Live In Time, to keep his three Oxford businesses going and allow him to pay his staff.
But the financial strain became too much and he revealed on Monday that he sold Cafe Coco on Oxfords Cowley Road in April.
The father of actress Florence Pugh has revealed he has sold one of his cafes in Oxford following a row with the local council (Pictured Clinton and Florence Pugh)
Emotional Clinton Pugh blamed the sale of iconic Cafe Coco on Oxfordshire City Council for its ill thought out traffic calming disaster
Mr Pugh has been at war with Oxford City Council previously ordering him to take down a huge sign outside his restaurant calling out the ill thought-out traffic experiment
Florence, 28, recently starred alongside Andrew Garfield in the romance We Live In Time
He told his Instagram followers: Its been emotional! Cafe Coco was sold in April after 31+ years. 1.5 miles of road closures. Removal of 600 parking spaces and no buses from the park and ride!
Thank you Oxfordshire County Council for your ill thought out traffic calming disaster. Thank you to all the wonderful stars who helped make Cafe Coco so special.
Mr Pugh, 66, had owned three businesses in Oxford - Cafe Coco, KazBar and Cafe Tarifa and worked on the Cowley Road for more than three decades.
Spanish-inspired Cafe Tarifa was repossessed last year.
His four children - Dont Worry Darling actress Florence, Game of Thrones actor Toby Sebastian, 31, actress and voice coach Arabella Gibbins, 37, and actress Rafaela Pugh, 19 - all cut their teeth in Clintons restaurants, helping out for pocket money and going to school in the local area.
Over the last 31 years, the restaurant owner encouraged the gentrification and diversity of Oxfords Cowley Road.
Taking to Instagram an emotional Mr Pugh announced the sale of Cafe Coco
In his post he blasted the council for their ill-thought out traffic calming disaster
Oxfordshire County Council has introduced a series of eco-policies in recent years, with the county previously being branded Britains wokest by critics
Zero Emission Zone signs can be found throughout Oxford city centre
Controversial LTNs were installed in the Cowley area in May 2022 - with the Oxfordshire County Council facing rabid opposition ever since.
The LTNs aim to reduce through traffic and make neighbourhoods quieter and became more common during the pandemic, when councils wanted to encourage cycling as a form of commuting.
But over the last two years, bollards have been ripped from the ground, run over and set on fire, while the wooden planters cutting off streets graffitied and their plants pulled out.
As well as that, the county council introduced a pilot Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) in February 2022 with charges in place from 7am until 7pm and then removed hundreds of parking spaces to make way for cycle lanes - 195 of which were on the same road as Mr Pughs businesses.
And while Clinton says that no one is against a greener, cleaner Oxford, he said the plans had cut off vital trade to the area.
When the initiative was first introduced, Clinton said takings at Café Coco, which opened in 1992 and has counted Radiohead and Supergrass as patrons, fell 25 per cent as footfall plummeted.
And he was later threatened with a £2,500 fine after he erected a banner on the side of the cafe criticising the scheme.
In November 2020, Clinton pasted a billboard protesting the initiative on the side of Cafe Coco - finishing it with the rallying call: So much for democracy! Help us fight this arrogance.
But Oxford City Council demanded the sign be taken down - only for Clinton to paste another banner on top, emblazoned with Censored!, So much for democracy! and 1984?.
Mr Pugh has previously spoken out against the hated Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme - introduced in the city in 2021
Clinton Pugh pictured outside of his restaurant Kazbar which is a tapas bar on Cowley Road, Oxford
Clinton has two children who have gone into the acting trade with Florences brother Toby Sebastian (right) making his name on Game of Thrones
The council sent Mr Pugh a letter on January 13 last year warning that no advertisement consent had been sought for the signage and telling him he could face a hefty fine of £2,500 if he was found guilty of an offence under planning laws.
He claimed he was just telling the truth - that the environmental initiative is strangling outlying businesses that depend on passing motorists for their trade.
He said in February last year: Im nearly 65 years of age and I could do without this stress.
The impact of closing the roads has meant that people just arent coming because they say it takes too long.
When this all happened I decided to put a sign up on the side of the Cowley Road to let the general public know what was going on. All Ive done is tell the truth.
But now theyre demanding I take it down, so in answer to that I put a strip on the bottom saying about 1984 censorship because I think its disgusting. I dont know how they dare.
Im upset, Im tired, Im worried for my health.
I said to my friends and family during Covid it feels like Im standing in front of a cliff waiting to be pushed.
And thats exactly how I continue to feel. If I go bust I go bust - providing I dont die Im alright, but the stress levels are horrendous.
Theyre just going to destroy my 31 years of hard work.
Clinton had wanted to retire but had to postpone his plans in order to save his businesses - and out of a duty to other small businesses along the road he feels he needs to help.
He continued: If they roll this out I think the government is going to regret it.
If you stop the blood flow to an arm, the arm falls off. The sad thing is they dont seem to care.
Ive opened many restaurants in Oxford, Ive been a vital part of actually trying to improve the culinary and overall experience of people living in Oxford, and obviously the council just dont give a s**t.
I have more confidence in somebody who runs a business running deckchairs in Hunstanton than I do with our county council.
Ive been fighting hard for the small independent businesses on the Cowley Road. The little guys that darent say anything. Theyre the ones Im trying to protect.
Im annoyed that anything we say is falling on deaf ears.
I do see that climate change is having an effect. But theyre destroying peoples livelihoods and need to re-look at it.
