A disabled resident has lost her appeal of a High Court decision against a judicial review of Lambeth Council’s scheme to introduce low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs).
Sofia Sheakh took Lambeth Council to court in June 2021 over what OneLambeth, an anti-LTN residence group, called "the undemocratic and discriminatory imposition of low traffic neighbourhoods in Lambeth".
On April 5 of this year, the Court of Appeal upheld the previous High Court's decision not to order a judicial review.
Sofia Sheakh said on Twitter: “Yes, we have an option to take this further, it would need fundraising on a bigger scale beyond Lambeth across boroughs.
"As it stands, I have a huge legal bill of £10k outstanding due imminently.”
OneLambeth, echoing Sheakh on its GoFundMe page, wrote: “On Tuesday 5th April 2022 the Appeal Court judges ruled in favour of Justice Kerr's High Court Judgement but the fight goes on as we plan to take this to the Supreme Court.
“On Wednesday 6th April 2022 our legal team applied for statutory review of the permanent traffic orders for the Railton, Oval and Streatham Hill LTNs as part of the formal process of appealing to the Supreme Court and once the appeal is lodged it will take approximately 2 months (or more) to find out if it has been granted.”
During the June 2021 court case, High Court Judge Tim Kerr ruled against ordering a judicial review into the LTNs but left open the option to appeal this decision on public sector equality duty (PSED) grounds — PSED requires public bodies to eliminate discrimination when carrying out their activities.
The GoFundMe page for the June 28 court case last year raised £35,109 while a new GoFundMe relating to the recent appeal has raised £13,060 so far.
The organisers of the page have claimed that the council has asked for £10,000 in court costs.
Lambeth Council said the decision re-confirms that it has given due regard to equalities impacts of the low traffic neighbourhood schemes when it decided to implement them.
A spokesperson for the council said: “The low traffic neighbourhoods that the council has implemented are just one part of our holistic approach to making Lambeth’s roads and neighbourhoods healthier, safer and more equal.
“The majority of Lambeth residents do not have access to a car and that is particularly the case for many communities which are disproportionately impacted by collisions or toxic air pollution.”
It also said it had consulted with residents and businesses and introduced dispensations for blue badge holders, making it easier for them to get around.
Lambeth Council has set up LTNs around Oval to Stockwell, Railton, Ferndale, Tulse Hill and Streatham Hill.
Low traffic neighbourhoods have existed in the capital since the 1970s, however, newer LTNs were introduced around the start of the pandemic in 2020 with funding from the Department of Transportation.
Lambeth was one of the first councils to introduce new LTNs and has finalised plans on making the LTNs around Oval to Stockwell and Railton permanent.
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