Revealed: Council which pocketed more than £13MILLION from 'unlawful' LTNs has refunded just £520K to fined motorists in six months

Croydon Council, which collected over £13 million from fines related to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), has refunded less than 4% of that amount, just £520,951, to drivers within six months, according to new revelations. The council withdrew all six of its LTN zones in March following a High Court ruling that deemed the schemes primarily aimed at generating revenue rather than reducing traffic. The court found that the dominant purpose of extending the LTNs beyond their initial trial periods was to secure financial gains. This decision came after a two-year period during which the council reportedly earned £7,210,328.18 from enforcement activities. Additional data from a trial phase, which ran from November 2023 to March 2024, revealed another £5,828,136 in revenue, bringing the total to more than £13 million. During this time, the council averaged over £300,000 in monthly earnings, with some months seeing receipts exceeding £480,000 from just 11 kilometers of road. One of the LTNs, located at the Derby Road junction with Clarendon Road, generated nearly £250,000 in a single month during the trial period. Despite the court’s ruling, the council has yet to fully return the funds to affected drivers. In April, the council announced that motorists could apply for refunds via its website, though it did not guarantee the return of all collected revenue. Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden criticized the previous Labour government for implementing the LTNs without adhering to guidelines that required community consultation and ongoing evaluation. He emphasized that drivers who paid penalties should seek refunds, calling the scheme “unlawful.” Croydon’s current Conservative mayor, Jason Perry, acknowledged the criticism, stating that the LTNs were imposed by the previous Labour administration with support from London Mayor Sadiq Khan. He noted that the council faced financial challenges and had incorporated projected fine income into its budget. Perry claimed he reduced the impact of the schemes by removing physical barriers and offering free resident permits. Upon the court’s ruling, he swiftly disbanded all six LTNs and urged drivers to apply for refunds. As of now, 6,167 refund claims have been submitted by drivers. Karen Lawrence, who led the legal challenge against the LTNs, expressed relief that the court validated public concerns about the schemes being financially motivated. She described the closure of the LTNs as a positive outcome for residents. Residents have shared distressing experiences, including being pursued by debt collectors for hundreds of pounds with minimal assistance from the council. Roger Minnis’s daughter recounted how her father, recovering from abdominal surgery, was fined after rushing to an emergency medical appointment. She called the council’s actions “absolutely disgusting,” highlighting the aggressive tactics employed by debt collection agencies.