CROYDON IN CRISIS: Following the High Court ruling quashing Croydon’s ‘unlawful’ Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, the shadowy organisation behind the legal case, Open Our Roads, issued the following statement:

Open Our Roads welcomes today’s landmark High Court judgement in Lawrence v London Borough of Croydon, which has quashed all six Low Traffic Neighbourhood Traffic Orders made permanent in March 2024.

The court concluded that Croydon Council acted for an unlawful purpose, finding that the dominant purpose behind making the schemes permanent was to safeguard revenue raised through enforcement rather than to advance statutory aims such as road safety, access and traffic flow. The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 is not a revenue‑raising statute.

Today’s judgment confirms that local authorities must act lawfully and for the purposes Parliament intended. Residents deserve transparency and decisions based on evidence, not financial necessity.

The court considered a series of complex procedural points which the council was ultimately relying on to get the case dismissed, however these proved unsuccessful and the court confirmed that legal challenges regarding jurisdiction must be raised promptly and in full.

Once the procedural questions had been determined, the merits of the case were straightforward as far as the court was concerned.

The quashing of the orders raises serious questions about the validity of fines issued under them. OOR calls on Croydon Council to:

• Suspend all enforcement immediately and remove all 6 schemes immediately
• Set out a clear process for refunding fines issued under quashed orders
• Reassure residents who received penalties while the council acted outside lawful powers

OOR would like to express our sincere thanks to all our supporters, particularly to Kevin Leigh and Laura Collignon of Thomas More Chambers, who represented the claimant pro bono.

We will continue updating members as the implications of this ruling unfold.

• Click here to read the judge’s ruling in full

Read more: High Court judge orders end to Croydon’s ‘unlawful’ LTNs
Read more: The next battle in the culture wars? Traffic bollards
Read more: London’s toxic air is ‘a public health emergency’ says charity

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