A CONTROVERSIAL transport plan for Southampton has been described as a "unique opportunity".

Business bosses in the city have branded the Green Transport Recovery Plan as an opportunity to allow businesses to thrive.

The news comes as the £4.1m plan approved by city councillors in Southampton last week has been "called back in" to be scrutinised further.

Among the reasons behind the move there are fears that some measures might discourage people from going shopping in Southampton.

As reported, the plan includes proposals to trial temporary cycle and bus lanes across the city such as those on Bassett Avenue, The Avenue, Hill Lane and Bitterne Road West.

The closure of New Road, Above Bar Street and Portland Terrace is also part of the plan.

Some of the initiatives such as the temporary cycle lane on Bassett Avenue and the temporary bus lane on Bitterne Road West have proved controversial with calls for the bus lane in Bitterne to be removed as soon as possible.

Giles Semper, executive director at Go!Southampton, the Business Improvement District (BID), said: "The Green Transport Recovery Plan offers a unique opportunity to reclaim some city centre locations from the car and to allow businesses and their customers to thrive while observing social distancing.

"We are actively pursuing opportunities to get tables and chairs out on to the street through our ‘Southampton Inside Out’ programme and would love to see this become more of a feature of city centre life in the future.

"In the European cities from which we take inspiration, it is taken for granted.”

Extra space outside businesses in the city is also part of the plan which is going to be debated at a special council meeting on July 28.

As reported, opposition leaders said there should have been more consultation on the plan and claimed the city council “is acting undemocratically”.

But civic chiefs said the plan is aimed at keeping people safe, supporting the economy, and encouraging walking and cycling.

The council stressed residents are being consulted while the measures are trialled.

It comes as official documents revealed that among the reasons for the call-in there are a “lack of prior consultation” and a not “high enough priority on school streets schemes and low traffic residential zones”.