Croydon Council generated over £7 million across a two year period from low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) that have since been ruled unlawful.
The six LTNs were ruled unlawful by the High Court in March after a judge found they were mainly in place to raise money.
LTNs are designed to reduce traffic in residential areas using cameras, flower beds or lockable bollards to stop cars passing through.
Mr Justice Pepperall described the case as a "procedural dog's breakfast," and he told the council: “I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the dominant purpose for these orders making the schemes permanent was the need to safeguard the revenue raised by enforcement.”
Now, figures obtained by the Daily Mail show that the council made £7,210,328.18 from the six LTNs between March 2024 and February 2026, an average of £300,000 each month.
The judge’s decision leaves the financially-stricken council facing demands to refund all the penalty fines imposed on motorists - and though the council has said motorists were able to claim refunds from their website, they have not ensured the full revenue generated from the LTNs would be given back.
There are no active LTNs in the borough now that the six unlawful zones have been withdrawn.
Karen Lawrence, who spearheaded the legal action, told the Mail: “These closures had such a big impact on my movement around Croydon. I am so glad the courts vindicated what we all thought these were truly about money.”
Resident group Open Our Roads said it was “shocked” by the extent of the revenue-raising from the LTNs.
The group said it had received over a thousand messages of thanks from the community, but that “eye-watering sums” continued to be raised by councils in other boroughs through LTNs.
A spokesperson said: “The figures quoted suggest they were not performing their stated objectives, given the high level of enforcement revenue, but we are pleased the current administration has swiftly put processes in place to refund the fines wrongfully taken.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The law is clear that money raised from enforcement is strictly ringfenced, and councils must make sure any Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are lawful and shaped with local communities.”
In the High Court judgement, Mr Justice Pepperall said that while Croydon's Conservative mayor Jason Perry criticised LTNs while in opposition, saying he would like to remove them on his first day in office, he changed his mind after being elected in May 2022 because of financial considerations.
The judgement said that Perry “didn't think he was in a position to remove the schemes because the previous administration had predicated their budgets on assumed income from the schemes.”
Perry later said: “I did not at any point say that I would remove all the [LTNs] because I just knew it was not a pledge that I could uphold... any future schemes coming forward should not be based on fining residents in order to achieve it.”
Croydon Council has effectively declared bankruptcy three times since 2020, the year it trialled LTNs before making them permanent in 2024.
A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “Six Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes were introduced in May 2020. Following a recent High Court judgement concerning these schemes, there were two options: to appeal the decision, which could take many months, or to accept the ruling and remove them.
“We did not appeal the judgement and removed the schemes and have started refunding motorists who received Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) whilst the schemes were in operation between 30 March 2024 and 4 March 2026. To request refunds motorists can visit the Council website.”
