Road safety campaigners in east London have lost a high court challenge against the mayor of Tower Hamlets over his decision to remove three low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in Bethnal Green.
The campaign group Save Our Safer Streets (SOSS) raised nearly £80,000 through a crowdfunder to bring judicial review proceedings. After a two-day hearing last month a judge ruled on Tuesday that the mayor, Lutfur Rahman, did not break the law when he announced in September 2023 that he would be removing the LTNs.
Rahman said: “I welcome the high court’s ruling that the council followed the proper procedures. We had a responsibility to fulfil the democratic mandate from voters in the May 2022 election to reopen these three roads and we also held further consultations to ensure the views of all affected residents were considered.”
“While LTNs improve air quality in their immediate vicinity, the previous Labour administration’s botched implementation of LTNs in Tower Hamlets caused traffic congestion on main roads. This led to complaints about increased air pollution and negative impacts on the health of many who live on main roads, which are predominantly working-class households.”
The high court case is just one part of a wider controversy over the place of low traffic neighbourhoods in controlling traffic on residential roads.
The previous government talked about restricting the ability of local councils to implement them and ordered the DfT to put together an official study of LTNs.
However, the document showed the polling indicated they were generally supported and appeared to work. The Conservative government had hoped that the study would bolster their arguments against LTNs, which are mainly installed by Labour-run councils.
In August the then transport secretary Louise Haigh said that the new Labour administration would be leaving the decision on LTNs to local councils; telling the Streets Ahead podcast: ““Local authorities will have my full support to roll out schemes.”
The campaigners in Tower Hamlets had disputed the idea that working-class families suffered because of the traffic restrictions. Their case was backed by Transport for London (TfL), as well as local NHS trusts and the headteachers of five local schools who wrote an open letter to Rahman asking him to keep the restrictions in place.
Jane Harris, from SOSS, said: “On behalf of the thousand-plus supporters who funded this case, we at Save Our Safer Streets are extremely disappointed that the judge has not found in our favour.
“Our low traffic neighbourhoods are a major success story in a deprived area of London, virtually eliminating serious road injuries and improving air quality inside and outside the schemes. With so much support for the low traffic neighbourhoods in Bethnal Green – including from schools, GPs, the Met police, TfL and local residents – we had to do everything possible to prevent them being ripped out at a cost of millions and without listening to the people who live and work here.”
She added that the proposal would be expensive and unpopular as well as harmful for residents’ health and safety, while also jeopardising the mayor of London’s transport strategy.
“It’s important to note,” she continued, “that the judge himself said that this case was not about the rights and wrongs of removing the scheme, just about whether the decision was legal.
“Our legal team has told us that we have grounds for an appeal. We are raising funds again [and] we hope people will continue to support us.”
