An Enfield Council cabinet member told drivers forced to use North Circular to reach their homes he “totally empathised” with them, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Warwick Road within the Bowes LTN, where most vehicles are banned from entering or exiting the LTN — Warwick Road near Maidstone Road, where most vehicles are banned from entering or exiting the Bowes LTN

Residents living within a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in Bowes Park are calling on Enfield Council to improve road access to their homes.

The LTN – first installed on a temporary basis in 2020 and made permanent in 2022 – forces drivers living along 13 roads to enter and exit the area via the North Circular Road, a major dual carriageway.

Residents presented a petition with 1,683 signatures to an overview and scrutiny committee meeting last night (Monday 10th), calling on the council to allow access to their homes via the junction of Maidstone Road and Warwick Road.

The 13 roads referred to by the petition are York, Natal, Lancaster, Bosworth, Wakefield, Warwick, Maidstone, Shrewsbury, Union, Highworth, Stanley, Ollerton and Evesham.

The LTN – officially called the ‘Bowes Primary Area Quieter Neighbourhood’ – currently uses an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera as a modal filter at the Maidstone Road and Warwick Road junction, with residents of the 13 roads forced to use the North Circular instead.

Describing the dual carriageway as a “hazardous route”, lead petitioner Jason Russell told councillors it was “unacceptable” for the council to expect residents to navigate the “dangerous entry and exit points” on the North Circular.

As well as the North Circular the Bowes LTN is bordered by Green Lanes to the east and Haringey Council’s own Bounds Green LTN to the south.

Jason said: “When the North Circular grinds to a halt, as it so often does, we’re trapped, we can’t get in, we can’t get out. The residential access contingencies in place would be laughable if they weren’t so inadequate.”

Currently only emergency service vehicles and Blue Badge holders within the Bowes LTN who have a permit exemption can access the camera-controlled closure at the Maidstone Road and Warwick Road junction.

Sabri Ozaydin, cabinet member for climate action and placemaking, told the meeting: “I totally empathise with every petitioner.

“We will consider each recommendation made. We will not make a decision today. We are here to serve our residents, we will take this away, and consider all of the opinions and recommendations before we make a decision.”

Richard Eason, the council’s healthy streets programme director, said there were “lots of considerations of safety” at the time of implementation, along with the council’s “legal duties”.

He said: “Notwithstanding that I appreciate the context and location of this quieter neighborhood, the fact it borders the A406 does make it a challenging situation.”

He admitted “in principle” there wasn’t a “particular reason” the petition’s request could not be implemented, subject to “further assessment”.

Conservative councillor Maria Alexandrou also asked about the effects of roadworks on the A406 on the residents.

She said: “In the last one [traffic jam] it took people two hours to get home. You could go to Nottingham in two hours. Surely when you have that sort of emergency situation, why can’t you open up the roads there?”

Cllr Alexandrou also asked why Enfield couldn’t open up the modal filters to all Blue Badge holders, a practice done in Haringey, instead of only to those residing in the respective LTN.

In terms of the roadworks, Richard acknowledged it wasn’t an “ideal situation” but said residents in the area could go through the camera-controlled junction and appeal their fine during “prolonged” situations.

However, Cllr Alexandrou said it was unclear when this would be allowed and residents would not want to “risk getting fined”.

In terms of Blue Badge holders the committee determined this fell “outside” the remit of the petition. However, the committee voted unanimously to recommend consideration of access points on Warwick Road and Maidstone Road for residents of the 13 roads affected.

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