Court of Appeal to hear appeal over decision by mayor to remove low traffic neighbourhoods
Campaigners seeking to challenge a plan by Tower Hamlets Council to remove low-traffic neighbourhoods have received permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal an earlier refusal from the High Court.
Campaign Group Save our Safer Streets (SOSS) lost a judicial review case in December last year after Fordham J rejected all grounds brought against the London borough.
Measures to restrict traffic in parts of Bethnal Green had been implemented by the borough's former Labour mayor, John Biggs.
His successor, Lutfur Rahman, of the local Aspire party, said in his election manifesto that he would remove these.
The dispute is between campaigners who say the low-traffic neighbourhoods have improved road safety and air quality and Rahman, who maintains they have displaced polluting traffic onto busy main roads.
At the High Court, Fordham J said the issues at hand concerned: whether the mayor gave legally inadequate reasons for his decision; whether the consultation process was so unfair as to be unlawful; whether Rahman unlawfully failed to take into account the results of the travel survey; whether he failed lawfully to apply Department for Transport statutory guidance on the monitoring and removal of low traffic neighbourhoods; whether his decision was unreasonable; whether the decision was taken in breach of the local implementation plan duty; whether the decision was taken in breach of the best value duty.
He ultimately rejected all seven grounds brought by SOSS.
However, the Court of Appeal has now granted the group permission to appeal on three grounds concerning whether the mayor's consultation process was fair, whether he took the borough's Local Implementation Plan (LIP) into account, and whether he can legally act against the LIP agreed by the council with Transport for London (TfL).
In a statement announcing the appeal on Tuesday (15 April), the group said: "London boroughs work with the Mayor of London to agree a LIP that helps deliver the city's transport strategy to get more people walking and cycling.
"They then receive funding from TfL to deliver it. The LIP for Tower Hamlets says the council will implement the LTN in Bethnal Green."
It added: "It is really important that when councils sign agreements like this, they keep to their promises. We need all London borough councils to work together in a coordinated and strategic way if they are to give London the best possible transport and keep residents safe."
The campaign group says it needs a further £20,000 in funding to cover the appeal. It has previously raised over £90,000 on Crowd Justice to fund its judicial review.
The group's announcement added: "We have another chance to save our safer streets! A judge has granted us permission to appeal the judicial review ruling on three grounds. Our hearing will be sometime in the next few months.
"Not many cases get to go to the Court of Appeal, so we are very encouraged that the judge thinks that we have a realistic prospect of success and also that our case raises important issues of public interest."
Adam Carey
