A low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in West Ham can stay, Newham Council’s Labour administration has agreed.
The scheme, which restricts traffic on residential streets, was made permanent in December. But councillors on an overview and scrutiny committee subsequently ordered the council’s cabinet to reconsider the earlier decision.
Speaking to council leaders at a cabinet meeting last Thursday (5 February) Labour councillor Lester Hudson suggested people opposed to the scheme hadn’t been listened to.
He said: “We are concerned decisions are being made about our residents, not with them.
“Are we imposing an ideological agenda, or are we listening to local communities we are elected to serve?”
Cllr Hudson said responses to a council consultation were “finely balanced”. Of people who responded to a survey, 48 per cent said they were “happy” with the LTN and another three per cent were “satisfied”.
However 47 per cent said they were “unhappy” and one per cent were “dissatisfied”.
Cllr Hudson also pointed to a petition against the LTN in December 2024, one month after the scheme was implemented, which was signed by 1,709 people.
He said: “Democracy matters, and trust matters. When insufficient consideration is given to nearly 2,000 opponents something has gone wrong”.
But Labour mayor Rokhsana Fiaz insisted the scheme should stay to combat “toxic” air quality in the area.
She said: “Newham stands at a lethal crossroads. Literally. Despite boasting one of the lowest rates of car ownership in London – with fewer than half of our residents owning a private vehicle – our borough suffers the most toxic air in the capital.
“To govern Newham is to confront a crisis where the simple act of breathing has become a hazard. This cannot be ignored and to do so is unconscionable”.
Councillors on the cabinet said they had received dozens of emails from people living inside the scheme asking for the restrictions to stay, and none supporting their removal.
Fiaz also read out a letter from the headteacher of Park Primary School, inside the scheme.
The letter said the LTN meant “the area has been transformed for the better”. It added that the crossing to West Ham Park, where the school takes classes, was “so much safer”.
And it also noted that the school’s playground is directly next to Ham Park Road, where traffic has been reduced.
Labour cabinet member Charlene McLean said she supported the LTN, but said traffic in her West Ham ward, next to the scheme, had increased.
She asked what council highways officers would do to mitigate this.
A highways officer admitted there was a “small number of sites” where traffic had increased. He highlighted the eastern end of Portway and the northern end of Upton Lane.
The officer said the council would keep monitoring those sites. He said Transport for London had confirmed funding to remodel the signalled junction of Upton Lane with Romford Road, which would improve its safety.
He said the council is also planning traffic calming measures on Portway.
Cabinet members voted unanimously to keep the scheme.
