TfL given permission for appeal in Streetspace dispute

Transport for London has been granted the right to appeal against a High Court ruling that its traffic reduction policies were unlawful.

London taxi driver organisations won a judicial review of the closure of part of Bishopsgate in the City of London to taxis and to the ‘Streetspace’ policy that has seen several roads blocked to though traffic in a bid to encouarge active travel while public transport usage has fallen due to the pandemic.

A TfL spokeswomen said: “We are aware of the decision to grant the appeal and are now progressing with preparing for our appeal.

“I’m afraid we can’t comment further due to the pre-election period [for the London mayoralty].”

The London Taxi Drivers Association - one of the bodies that took the original legal action - said in a tweet: “We've been informed that TfL & the Mayor have been granted permission to appeal High Court's decision on Streetspace and Bishopsgate.

"We will continue to strongly fight their efforts to appeal. We will be consulting our legal team ASAP.”

Mr Khan said he would appeal soon after the High Court ruling was made.

He has argued that the Streetspace policy was designed to encourage walking and cycling by barring through traffic from certain areas.

Bishopsgate in particular was chosen to be closed to all but buses and bicycles because of a poor safety record, he said.

A mayoral spokesperson said then: “By supporting both walking and the huge increase in cycling we are enabling social distancing and much faster journeys on public transport, reducing the risk of infection.”