Court date for the judicial review of the Mayor’s LTN reversal delayed for another five months

Local pressure group say delayed court hearing date to review the Mayor’s reversal of Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes in Tower Hamlets is ‘good news’.

After an initial postponement, the court date for the judicial review of Major Lutfur Rahman’s decision to remove Low Traffic Neighbourhood street infrastructure in Tower Hamlets is now set for 20 November 2024.

Save Our Safer Streets (SOSS), a group of Tower Hamlets residents, is fighting to keep and improve pedestrian-friendly streets around Old Bethnal Green Road, Columbia Road and Arnold Circus. They plan to take the Council to court over it’s decision to remove the schemes.

On February 21, 2024, a judge granted the team a hearing, agreeing their legal challenge was arguable. The group raised £75k from 1,126 people for their two-day hearing initially scheduled for 12 and 13 June 2024. 

However, the hearing was postponed due to lack of court availability. As the courts do not sit in summer, the new court hearing is not for another five months.

A spokesperson from SOSS said that ‘this is good news for us as the Council are unable to take action until the court hearing.’

In February 2023, a public consultation was conducted and the results showed that 58% of residents wanted to keep the LTNs in Bethnal Green and Brick Lane. However, in September 2023, Mayor Lutfur Rahman decided; ‘that division is not the answer. We need to find better solutions to improve air quality that can unite our residents and businesses.’

In response, SOSS launched a campagin to challenge the Major’s decision, saying it was flawed and ignored government guidance.

As in much of the country, Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes have divided the borough with many supporting the removal of the schemes, believing that the LTN schemes push traffic onto poorer roads.

Anas Sarwar, an Uber driver, says that ‘Saying LTNs provide cleaner air but directing more traffic into another area for it to be polluted is not a solution. I’m not saying they need to be removed but we definitely have to find something that works for everyone. I know there’s this encouragement for people to use cars less but it’s not easy for everyone to do that. People use their cars for work. Some families live far from school. Disabled kids need transport. It needs to work for everyone.’

With the court date delayed for another five months, there will be no resolution of this divide for a while. 

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