Mr Streeten, in his written submission to the court, said the council’s use of two traffic orders to create the LTN was unlawful because “the council’s approach to consultation was so unfair as to be unlawful ”.
The “drop in” event, at West Norwood library in April 2023, was called by Lambeth council to inform residents of plans for a LTN in West Dulwich.
The so-called “library event” was described by opponents as “a fiasco”, “a debacle” and “shambolic”, but the “difficulties experienced at that event were patently not the fault of the council,” according to the skeleton argument presented to the court by Lambeth’s barrister, Heather Sargent.
Details of the controversy that was sparked by the proposal – which aimed to prevent residential streets being inundated with “rat running” traffic from the South Circular Road - was detailed in legal papers presented to the court by the council’s legal team.
“Even if all three grounds of challenge were made out (and none of them are), the court would not have the power to quash the [legal orders] because it is plain that neither the interests of the claimant nor those of West Dulwich Action Group have been prejudiced at all, still less substantially.
