A group of east Londoners battling against Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman over his decision to remove a set of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) have rejoiced after learning their case will be heard in the Court of Appeal.
The Save Our Safer Streets (SOSS) campaign group were told in December last year that the High Court had ruled in favour of Mr Rahman, after they tried to argue that he broke the law in the way he decided to remove three LTNs in Bethnal Green in September 2023.
But following an application by SOSS to appeal against that ruling, a hearing to revisit the case has now been granted on three grounds.
The LTNs in question are located in Columbia Road, Arnold Circus, and Old Bethnal Green Road. Despite the borough mayor’s decision to remove them, all three schemes were kept in place due to the ongoing legal dispute.
“This appeal hearing is brilliant news,” said SOSS campaigner Jane Harris. “We have always thought the Tower Hamlets mayor’s decision to remove our LTNs was legally flawed as well as poorly executed, so we’re glad that the appeal judge agrees that it should be looked at again.
“Going to court is a last resort for us, after all our attempts to engage constructively with the council failed. We still hold out hope of finding a solution that addresses any issues the minority of people have with the LTNs, while preserving the many benefits supported by majorities in all consultations.”
Ahead of the appeal, the campaign group has raised more than £91,000 through crowd-funding and is now aiming to raise a further £20,000 before the hearing. A date for the hearing has not yet been set, but is expected within the next few months.
“The support and donations we have received have been incredible,” Ms Harris said. “Our Crowdjustice page shows us just how much the LTNs mean to people. We’ve had more than 1,200 people chipping in whatever they can, which convinces us not to give up.”
Solicitors Leigh Day, acting for SOSS, welcomed the news that the appeal had been granted. Partner Ricardo Gama said: “Not many cases are given permission to go to the Court of Appeal. It’s very encouraging that the judge thinks we have a realistic prospect of success, and also that this case raises important issues of public interest.
“There will now be a full hearing in front of three Court of Appeal judges, where we’ll argue on behalf of our client that Lutfur Rahman failed to comply with his legal duties to implement the Mayor of London’s transport policies on encouraging walking and cycling and carried out an unfair consultation process.”
In the judicial review in November last year, the High Court’s Mr Justice Fordham concluded that Mr Rahman’s decision to remove the LTNs was lawful, and struck down all seven grounds of legal challenge put forward by the campaigners.
The LTNs were introduced in 2021 by the borough’s previous Labour mayor, John Biggs. They include cycle lanes, pocket parks, seating areas and large planters that prevent residential streets being used by through traffic.
The schemes were installed as part of Tower Hamlets’ Local Implementation Plan (LIP), a document which sets out how each borough will help London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to achieve the goals set out in his transport strategy for the capital.
In his December ruling, Mr Justice Fordham found that LIP agreements are not “open-ended”, meaning that there is not an ongoing requirement for boroughs to keep schemes in place after they have been installed.
Mr Rahman had promised, in the manifesto on which he was re-elected in 2022, to “reopen our roads, and abolish the failed Liveable Streets scheme, which has seen emergency services and vulnerable residents’ access blocked”.
But the Court of Appeal will re-examine whether Mr Rahman’s consultation process to remove the LTNs was fair, whether he took the borough’s LIP into account and whether he had the power to legally act against an already-agreed LIP.
Transport for London (TfL), which unsuccessfully argued that Tower Hamlets was not allowed to “unilaterally” break from the LIP it had agreed, was represented at the High Court hearings as an ‘interested party’ and had its own barrister present throughout proceedings. TfL sources said the organisation was now considering its next steps in relation to the upcoming appeal hearing.
Tower Hamlets Council was approached for comment, but did not respond.
