Council threatened with legal action over plans to remove traffic restrictions under ‘Liveable Streets’ programme

Law firm Leigh Day has sent a pre-action letter to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets over plans to remove traffic restrictions imposed under its Liveable Streets initiative.

This was implemented by previous Labour elected mayor John Biggs but his successor Lutfur Rahman, of the local Aspire party, ran for office on a promise to remove them.

Liveable Streets includes measures to close off rat runs and “make it easier, safer and more convenient to get around by foot, bike and public transport”, a statement at the time of the launch said. Mr Biggs had approved measures in four areas and a further 13 were due to be launched.

Leigh Day is acting for the Save Our Safer Streets in Tower Hamlets Coalition, which want to judicially review Mr Rahman’s action.

The group said this was because the consultation on the proposed removal of Liveable Streets was legally flawed as it breached the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the legal requirements for a fair public consultation.

Leigh Day pointed to government guidance issued in May 2020 under Section 18 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, which it said “sets out a clear instruction to keep traffic management schemes unless there are good reasons to remove them”.

The objectors said Tower Hamlets failed to gather and publish evidence to justify removing the measures and that a “brief and haphazard public consultation” was unlawful because insufficient information was provided.

A scheme in Bow has already been reversed, so the legal challenge will focus on the Liveable Streets schemes in Bethnal Green, Brick Lane and Wapping.

Leigh Day solicitor Ricardo Gama said: “Tower Hamlets are proposing to spend millions of pounds to reverse changes to street layouts that have made the borough safer, healthier and friendlier.

“But they haven’t provided the public with any of the information which would allow local residents to give an informed response. This is contrary to national guidance which requires that low traffic schemes are objectively monitored and evaluated, and that public views are assessed using British Polling Standards. Our clients hope that their letter will cause the council to slow down and rethink their consultation and avoid the need for legal action.”

Mr Rahman has said: “A key part of my manifesto was my commitment to reversing the Liveable Street schemes in the borough.”

He said he had told officers to review Liveable Streets with the aim to “remove the elements of the existing Liveable Street schemes that restrict traffic movement, have added to congestion on our main roads, that have limited emergency service access or compromised how vulnerable residents access their streets, whilst retaining public realm improvements such as widened footpaths that make it easier for residents to get around”. 

Mark Smulian