Decision to reject a key changes to Fox Lane and Bowes LTNs will not be overturned, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

*Meadway in Southgate had been considered for reopening to through-traffic (credit Google)*

A bid to force a rethink of proposed changes to low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) that were recently ruled out by Enfield Council’s Labour administration has failed.

Proposals to reopen Meadway in the Fox Lane LTN and to allow access to the Bowes Park LTN from the south were backed by majorities of residents who responded to surveys, but council chiefs decided against the changes in a report published last month.

The report did give the go-ahead to replacing several physical LTN barriers with camera-enforced filters and providing exemptions for Blue Badge holders and Dial-a-Ride vehicles to enable them to pass through the filters without being fined.

During a meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee yesterday (Thursday), members of the Conservative administration called for a rethink of the proposals. They ‘called in’ the decision to the scrutiny committee for a range of reasons, including alleged failings in the consultation, “inadequate” traffic counts and claims enforcement cameras were being used to raise revenue.

The opposition group failed to persuade Labour members of the committee, however, who supported the original decision set out in the report.

Conservative councillor Maria Alexandrou, who led the call-in, told the meeting that LTNs had “caused misery, divided communities, and failed on every level”, adding that increasing the number of camera-enforced road closures would cause more financial hardship for residents.

Cllr Alexandrou claimed the surveys that revealed support for the proposed changes had been “ignored”. She said the LTNs were failing to meet their goals of reducing traffic and pollution, alleging that traffic data gathered by the council was “inaccurate” because previous counts did not include vehicles travelling at under 10km/h.

The Conservative councillor also criticised failures to provide exemptions for all Blue Badge holders in the borough and to offer free permits to carers. The Tories said the exemptions would benefit only 200 Blue Badge holders in the Fox Lane LTN and 250 in the Bowes Park LTN, yet there are more than 10,500 Blue Badge holders in Enfield – many of whose journeys are affected by the schemes.

In response, council leader Nesil Caliskan said the administration was “committed to rolling out schemes in this borough that will improve sustainable travel and [lead to] healthier lifestyles”, adding that she believed the specific proposals approved in the report would improve the LTNs.

Richard Eason, the council’s healthy streets programme director, said the extra camera-enforced filters were being introduced to improve access for the emergency services, not to raise revenue for the local authority. He rejected claims that the traffic data was “false”, claiming data was re-examined after an issue with the calibration of counters had been identified, and that there had been no “material impact” on the results.

Conservative committee member James Hockney asked the council leader for her view on the purpose of consultations. Cllr Caliskan replied that they helped the council to understand residents’ concerns in more detail so that schemes could be amended.

Under questioning on LTN camera fines, which total £4.5million to date, Cllr Caliskan said revenue from cameras could only be used to fund traffic improvement measures, and the amount of income was expected to decline over time. She said that officers should respond to the need for better signs to alert people to LTN cameras “swiftly”.

Doug Wilkinson, the council’s director of environment, said the LTN signs were “compliant with legislation” and drivers receiving fines had “broken the law”.

Officers told the committee more work was being done to explore possible LTN camera exemptions for other groups in addition to Blue Badge holders. Richard said the current exemptions were for people living within the LTN areas because their journeys were affected more than those living outside the schemes.

Acknowledging the issue was a “policy challenge”, Cllr Caliskan said it would be reviewed, and that the council would have to work with other London boroughs to come up with solutions.

Conservative councillor Mike Rye suggested the public had been “led up the garden path” during the consultation on reopening the Meadway and allowing access to the Bowes Park LTN from the south. He added: “What on earth was the point if the answer was going to be ‘no’?”

Cllr Caliskan said she did not think it was “a given” that the answer would be no. Regarding the Bowes Park LTN, she said that following the introduction of a neighbouring scheme in Haringey she felt the proposals agreed by the council were “safer” than the alternative.

Under questioning from Labour’s Gunes Akbulut, Richard assured the meeting that TfL would fully fund the changes to the LTNs outlined in the report.

After the question-and-answer session was over, Cllr Alexandrou said the council could have done more to provide additional exemptions for disabled people and carers, and repeated claims that the warning signs were not clear. Accusing the council of “doing nothing more than tinkering around the problems” of the LTNs, she called on the authority to “open up the roads for all disabled residents”.

The three Conservative committee members voted to refer the decision to a meeting of the full council. All five Labour members voted to confirm the original decision.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.