A Labour led council has issued £50million worth of fines to motorists who entered low traffic neighbourhoods.
Lambeth Council has dished out 392,341 penalty charge notices to people barred from driving through the hated LTNs in the south London borough since the Government’s roll out started in 2020.
If paid at the full rate of £130, Lambeth would have made more than £50m in just four years.
A Freedom of Information request shows thast from 2015 to 2018 there were no fines issued to the owners of vehicles entering roads closed to motor traffic. After the local authority rolled out LTNs, Lambeth has issued 392,341 fines, referred to as Code 52M, since 2019, the Telegraph reports.
Lambeth insists LTNs have made areas safer, more sustainable and improved the quality of life for residents.
A spokesperson for the council said: “The restrictions are clearly marked and fines are only issued when road rules are broken.”
They added the number of fines issued has been falling steadily since 2021, a trend which the council expects to continue.
The spokesperson said revenue from fines will be spent on transport projects but the local authority wants people to change their behaviour, be more active, help cut air pollution and not get a fine.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in September he wanted to stop “hare-brained” road calming schemes and end what he described as “a war on motorists”. His comments came amid a backlash among a group of Tory MPs and some members of the public.
In response, Mr Sunak announced there would be a review of LTNs in England to make sure such schemes were not introduced without support locally.
According to Lambeth Council’s website, the local authority operates five permanent LTNs: Oval to Stockwell, Railton, Ferndale, Tulse Hill and Streatham Hill.
Lambeth LTN Watch claimed on Sunday (February 25) that two pet shops were put out of business by the Streatham Hill LTN.
The group, which patrols LTNs, posted photos of shop windows with posters on display reading, “Thank you Lambeth” and “Death by LTN”.
On the council’s £50m from LTN fines, Jim Bennet from Lambeth LTN Watch told the Telegraph: “Lambeth claims the receipts from LTN fines are ring-fenced in the transport budget. But, there are no visible signs of any extra expenditure on the road network.”
