Activists Accuse Lib Dems of Illegal LTN Extension

A low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in Bath has been accused of being "illegally" made permanent after a local council allegedly disregarded warnings that it endangered schoolchildren due to increased congestion and pollution. According to legal documents filed at the High Court, the Bath and North East Somerset council failed to consider the concerns of residents who opposed the road closures.

The legal papers, which span 40 pages, detail seven alleged legal failures by the council regarding the Lower Lansdown and The Circus LTN in Bath. In October 2024, the council initiated a trial of the scheme, calling it a "liveable neighbourhood" by closing several roads to through traffic in an effort to encourage walking, wheeling, and cycling.

On Wednesday, the Heart of Lansdown Conservation Group, representing residents against the LTN, became the latest group to challenge the initiative in court. This follows a series of high-profile court cases where residents successfully overturned LTNs, arguing that councils used them as "cash cows" to generate fines or ignored concerns about increased congestion and pollution.

The latest legal arguments claim that the LTN has led to a "bedlam of cars" on nearby roads, many of which connect to the M4, putting pupils from two junior schools, pedestrians, and cyclists at risk. Legal documents state that the council ignored its own monitoring reports, which showed a 115% increase in traffic on one road—equivalent to over 1,100 extra vehicles per day.

These vehicles, according to the claims, pass near junior schools, exposing children to greater safety risks and higher levels of pollution. Two years ago, Kingswood Preparatory School wrote to the council expressing strong disagreement with the proposal, warning of potential congestion and safety issues.

The council's own consultation on road closures on Winifred’s Lane and along Lansdown Crescent revealed that 74% of residents opposed the scheme, mostly due to safety concerns. The legal papers argue that the council "effectively ignored" this feedback, leading to an "error of law."

The group is seeking for the High Court to cancel the legal orders that allowed the road closures, claiming the council made multiple legal errors when making the LTN permanent. A spokesperson for the group told The Telegraph that they took legal action out of deep concern that the "overwhelming" opposition to the LTN was being overlooked.

“This is a failure to hear local voices who raised concerns about safety, especially the safety of schoolchildren. It’s with sadness that we are going to the high court to have this appalling and unsafe traffic scheme properly challenged,” the spokesperson said.

They added that despite the Liberal Democrat-run council boasting about listening to residents, the decision to make the "unpopular" LTN permanent suggested otherwise. “We have shown the traffic scheme is unsafe for pedestrians, schoolchildren, cyclists and drivers,” they said, noting that a petition opposing the LTN had gathered over 3,000 signatures.

However, Ros Lovell, a resident on Winifred’s Lane, believes the council has created a "liveable neighbourhood." She explained that before the LTN, many people used the road as a shortcut to save time when heading to the M4 or taking their children to school. “The road became impossible to use because of endless traffic. Now, there’s no traffic and Winifred’s Lane has become a delightful place for families and cyclists who are no longer in fear of large cars moving at speed.”

Councillor Joel Hirst, the authority’s Cabinet Member for Sustainable Transport Strategy, stated: “The council carried out a comprehensive consultation process and all the information about this is available on our website. Earlier this week, the council received an application for a Judicial Review on the Lower Lansdown Traffic Regulation Order. We will vigorously contest this and as it is a legal matter we are unable to comment further.”

In March, Croydon council was ordered to scrap six LTNs after a judge ruled they were being used as a “fat cash cow” to help with the local authority’s financial woes. Similarly, Lambeth council was also ordered to scrap an unlawful LTN after residents proved it had ignored their “legitimate concerns” about increased traffic and pollution on boundary roads.