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As many people campaigning against the injustice of #LTNs have higlighted for over 3 years (longer in the case of THamlets and Waltham Forest) >> they push traffic onto surrounding roads. What a surprise. You didn't even need to be a road traffic engineer to work out this very obvious outcome of #LTN road blocks for the privileged. If @RishiSunak declares that the use of Covid emergency laws that allowed councils to undemocratically close roads to be an improper use of legislation, this would result in their removal. Remember, though, that the affluent self-serving Guardian reading champaign drinking minority can be very 'loud'.

HEADLINE NEWS: Fining motorists using CCTV evidence ruled 'illegal' Test case finds Transport for London guilty of ‘procedural impropriety’ by relying on video evidence and not traffic wardens By Steve Bird 5 August 2023 Fining motorists by post using CCTV camera evidence has been ruled “illegal”, The Telegraph can reveal. Drivers may be entitled to refunds for millions of pounds of penalty charge notices (PCNs) after a ruling by a panel of lawyers that hears appeals against motoring fines. A special test case found that Transport for London (TfL) had “illegally” fined motorists who had stopped on parking bays on red routes in the capital. The transport authority, acting on behalf of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, breached government guidance by using CCTV rather than traffic wardens to enforce road rules. Laws limiting the use of CCTV to issue fines were introduced in 2015 because of what ministers described as “overzealous enforcement by local authorities”. The judgment by London Tribunals has implications for drivers across the country and could be relied upon in appeals where a CCTV motoring fine has been issued. A London Tribunals spokesman said while its rulings do not set a legal precedent, “adjudicators may take previous decisions into consideration before reaching a conclusion”. The ruling, on eight red route fine appeals, has emerged just one week after Rishi Sunak declared he was on “the motorists’ side” and ordered a review of low traffic neighbourhoods. Analysis of TfL data suggests it issues about 435,000 PCNs of all types a year, which if paid in full at £160 would net £69 million. Three adjudicators accused the authority of a “procedural impropriety” by issuing fines through CCTV rather than “civil enforcement officers” – or traffic wardens. The ruling says the “most recent version” of Department for Transport guidance states that “approved devices” – or CCTV – should only be used “where enforcement is difficult or sensitive and enforcement by a civil enforcement officer is not practicable”. Explaining how many motorists may have legitimate reasons for stopping, such as loading or unloading, they “may find it impossible to obtain the necessary evidence after the event” when the £160 fine arrives by post. “A motorist parked in such a bay who encounters a civil enforcement officer may, there and then, be able to show that he or she is loading or unloading … or can readily obtain the evidence … to substantiate that claim,” the adjudicators said, scrapping all eight fines. The 22-page judgment, called “Commercial Plant Services and others versus TfL”, analysed the exact wording of legislation and ministerial guidance after Ivan Murray-Smith, a Conservative councillor who fights unfair fines, brought the test case. It now features as a “key case” on the London Tribunals website. TfL was so concerned about the judgment it hired Timothy Korner, KC, to try to overturn the ruling at a tribunal hearing in July. However, Anthony Chan, the chief adjudicator who heard that case, refused to review the ruling and issued a scathing judgment criticising TfL for continuing to use CCTV fines despite being told it was illegal. Describing the authority as “quasi prosecutorial”, he added: “I am of the opinion that if a public authority becomes aware that the imposition of a penalty may be unlawful, it should seek to clarify the position before issuing more PCNs. “Mr Korner does not think that is an issue because motorists can always challenge the PCNs … I do not find this argument attractive.” He adds that TfL struggled to “disclose” the number of motorists who had challenged their fines because “the numbers were embarrassing for TfL”. telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08…