Psst! Pass it on! Jason Perry’s council is hoping people don’t bother claiming any refunds for the fines they paid for driving in the Croydon Mayor’s ‘unlawful’ Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. By STEVEN DOWNES
Red faced: the Tory Mayor has used his own social media accounts to publicise his LTN fine refund scheme
Finally, nearly two weeks after a High Court judge ruled that six Croydon Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have been raking in millions of pounds in road fines while being “unlawful”, Mayor Jason Perry has at last announced a system to pay compensation to those who were caught in the camera traps that he ordered to be set up.
The announcement comes from Perry, Croydon’s nightmare mayor, just as householders are receiving annual Council Tax notices.
These council letters show that almost every property in Croydon will have to pay more than £2,000 in the year from April, after Tory Perry managed to hike their local taxation by 33% since 2023.
It’s these same, long-suffering Council Tax-payers who will be paying for the latest costly mistake by piss-poor Perry and his incompetent council – to the tune of at least £5million.
Perry, as he normally does, is still trying to pass the buck for his latest omnishambles, claiming he was never in favour of LTNs.
Quashing order: it was Mr Justice Pepperall who forced the removal of Croydon LTNs, not Jason Perry
Yet Perry, who pays himself £86,000 per year as Mayor, was singled out for mention by His Honour Mr Justice Pepperall as he quashed Perry’s orders that brought the LTNs into use. It is only fines paid on the six schemes since March 2024 – under Perry’s regime – that qualify for refunds.
Perry’s now trying to claim credit for shutting down the money-spinning schemes. The reality is he has been forced to do so by order of a High Court judge.
The schemes ruled unlawful are Albert Road in South Norwood, Dalmally Road, Addiscombe, Elmers Road, South Norwood, Holmesdale Road, Selhurst, and Parsons Mead and Sutherland Road, both in Broad Green.
And according to sources at Croydon Council, the council is doing its utmost to reduce the amounts it pays in refunds. While saying that they will be in contact with anyone whose details they have on file, “the reality is that if you want to claim a refund, you’re going to have to work very hard to get your cash back”, the source said.
“They want to only issue refunds to those who make claims,” the source said.
The announcement was made in a little social media video, now buried in the bullshit of Perry’s personal Twatter feed (a mere 4,000 followers). There’s no mention of the LTN refund scheme on the council’s official Twatter account (26,000 followers).
In the video, Croydon’s failed Mayor lies: “Following the recent court judgement on the LTNs, I have ended those schemes and we will not be appealing. The priority now is making sure residents can easily claim back any fines they paid. “We will be contacting people where we hold email addresses, launching a simple online claim form, and providing a checker so residents can see if they are eligible for a refund.
“We will make the process as straightforward as possible. And while I am Mayor, these LTNs will not be returning to Croydon.”
In each case, the refunds could be worth as much as £160, or £80 for those who were speedy payers.
Some Katharine Street sources fear that the overall cost of scrapping the six LTNs and paying refunds to drivers could reach at least £10million – money that the council does not have.
Administering Perry’s pay-outs is likely to be a massive cost for the cash-strapped council, using already overworked staff to check and verify every claim submitted.
Those who navigate their way through the simple form (as Inside Croydon has done for research purposes only) receive an auto-generated message: “Once verified we will process your refund within 14 to 28 days.”
Those caught on Perry’s LTN cameras were given just 14 days to cough up the initial £80 fine.
“Croydon’s been bankrupted by Perry once already,” a Katharine Street source said this afternoon. “Looks like he could manage to bankrupt the borough again before the elections.”
Local elections, including for Croydon Mayor, take place on May 7.
Read more: High Court judge orders end to Croydon’s ‘unlawful’ LTNs
Read more: Tribunal rules Perry’s yellow box at East Croydon is ‘wrong’
Read more: Council failed to include High Court LTN case on risk register
Read more: Traffic creeps back on to Croydon’s now-banned LTN streets
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