A decision to make a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in West Ham permanent is set to be reviewed by council leaders this week.
The scheme, which restricts traffic on residential streets, was made permanent by senior Newham Council officers in December. But councillors have ordered council leaders to reconsider.
Councillors on the overview and scrutiny committee said there was “no evidence of a clear majority of residents in favour of the scheme”.
They also questioned the timing of the “highly controversial” decision in the run-up to local elections this May.
The West Ham Park LTN scheme was introduced on a trial basis in March 2024. Senior council officers made it permanent on 19th December 2025.
It prevents drivers of motor vehicles cutting through minor residential streets to get from one main road to another. The residential streets are surrounded by four main roads; Romford Road, Upton Lane, Portway and Vicarage Lane.
A council survey suggested residents were divided over the scheme, with 48 per cent of those who responded saying they were “happy” with it, but 47 per cent being “unhappy”.
Paul Mitchell, who lives in Salisbury Road, inside the scheme, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that restrictions had made his journeys longer.
He said previously, when he wanted to travel south out of the neighbourhood, he’d been able to take a short route via Ham Park Road onto Upton Lane.
But barriers along Ham Park Road mean he now has to take a longer, more circuitous route by first travelling north onto the busy Romford Road.
Paul said: “It’s only working for one party, which is basically Ham Park Road, which is benefiting from it by having less cars and only they can go down it.
“Why don’t they allow the people who live in that area to be given permission to go through the same barriers as everyone else who lives on Ham Park Road?”
He added: “We live there as well, we live on the doorstep. Why should we be victimised?”
But Sarah, who lives in York Road, said the scheme had improved the area.
She told the LDRS: “The difference is just phenomenal in terms of the number of cars that rat-run through the LTN, the air quality and just the feeling of safety crossing the road.
“My daughter went to Park Primary many years ago. It was so dangerous taking her to school in the morning, whereas now it just seems totally transformed, the whole area”.
Councillors on the overview and scrutiny committee voted to refer the decision back for reconsideration at a meeting on 20 January.
They said they were concerned the council’s consultation had found “no evidence of a clear majority of residents in favour of the scheme”.
The committee agreed: “The outcome had been finely balanced, with insufficient consideration being given to opponents of the scheme.”
Council leaders are now set to consider the decision at a meeting this Thursday (5 February).
