Campaign groups opposing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have joined forces for the first time to lobby the Government to change the law. Fifteen community groups have sent a letter to the transport secretary Heidi Alexander arguing that LTN schemes often “do not have the backing of local people”.
The letter also called for the government to introduce “a strict regulatory framework” for new and existing LTN schemes to make sure that they cannot introduce schemes which do not have community support. The letter, which has been seen by the Standard, said: “The Department for Transport has always said that LTNs are a matter for local authorities and should be developed through engagement with local communities.
“However, our experience is that local authorities often impose LTNs without local community support — in many cases after public consultations showing that two thirds or more wanted them removed. This has eroded trust in local government. “Until now we have campaigned separately against badly designed and socially unjust LTNs in our local areas.
“We are now joining forces to urge the government to introduce a strict regulatory framework for both new and existing traffic management schemes, to ensure that local authorities do not disadvantage groups with protected characteristics, such as the disabled, and cannot implement or maintain schemes that do not have community support.”.
