Hackney’s LTNs rake in £19m in fines in under three years – with £6m coming from a single road

Lansdowne Drive near London Fields has raised £6m in fines. Photograph: Julia Gregory

Motorists have racked up a whopping £19m in fines for driving inside Hackney’s low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) since they were introduced three years ago – with one expensive street raking in £6m alone.

The Town Hall has created 19 low traffic neighbourhoods, which are designed to discourage car use and get more people walking, cycling and shopping locally.

Around 390,000 fines have been issued in total, with just over 250,000 of them paid up at time of writing.

One road – Lansdowne Drive near London Fields – has pulled in about a third of the total income from fines. It is part of the first LTN introduced in February 2020, and drivers totted up over £1m in penalties in its first four months.

The first year yielded £4.6m in fines, but this jumped to £8.9m in 2021 as more LTNs were set up.

So far this year, Hackney Council has collected £5.2m from 134,867 fines.

By law, money generated by low traffic neighbourhoods and parking enforcement can only be spent on transport schemes in Hackney.

November 2021 was the most costly month for motorists, with £1.1m raised. More LTNs had been created at this point, and Covid restrictions had been lifted.

By September 2022, the amount raised by all of Hackney’s LTNs combined had dropped to £297,830.

Blue badge holder Peter Smorthit has been hit with nine fines

According to data supplied under the Freedom of Information Act, 154,587 fines have still not been paid.

Town Hall traffic experts say 271 million miles are driven on Hackney’s roads every year, despite less than a third of residents owning a car.

Cllr Mete Coban, cabinet member for energy, waste, transport and public realm, said: “This can’t be right and demonstrates we’re an importer of traffic.

“We’re committed to reducing transport emissions, tackling the climate crisis and supporting more people to walk, cycle and take public transport locally.”

He added: “Our evidence shows there is better air quality, fewer vehicle journeys, and more people walking and cycling since the introduction of our low traffic neighbourhoods.”

He said the LTNs are “marked with clear signage, meeting all the requirements of the Department for Transport”.

Other than Lansdowne Drive, the biggest money-spinners include Pritchard’s Road in Haggerston, which has raised £2.1m in fines since it was introduced in September 2021, and Church Street, where drivers have racked up penalties totalling £2.8m.

Anti-LTN campaigners have hit out at the figures.

Niall Crowley, who stood as an independent in May’s local elections, said: “These figures are shocking, especially in the context of rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, because the fines are really hitting thousands of ordinary Hackney residents, working people and small businesses, who have little choice but to drive.”

He added: “LTNs are not working for the people of Hackney, whether you walk, cycle, drive. And if you happen to live on a boundary road, then your life will have changed dramatically over the last two years.”

Crowley lives near an LTN boundary and says he “has to put up with a line of traffic outside my window at all hours”.

A Hackney Council spokesperson said it has found that “eight in 10 of the fines issued in LTNs have been to vehicles that are not registered in Hackney”.

Peter Smorthit also ran as an independent network candidate in May’s elections. He has a blue badge and has been hit with nine fines.

He said: “I have to go to Homerton Hospital twice a month. There is no way of going to the hospital without driving through LTNs.

“It’s not like I can use a bike. I have no choice, I’m paralysed and I have to use a car.”

He said the system is confusing and it is hard to find a map of all the LTNs in Hackney.

LTN supporters say the signs are clear and drivers have ‘no excuse’. Photograph: Julia Gregory

Hackney Cycling Campaign has backed LTNs.

The group’s spokesman said: “We feel that the LTNs are working well at making streets safer and more welcoming to pedestrians and cyclists, and we hope to see further LTN filters being installed in the near future.

“The LTN signs prohibiting motor vehicles are clear. Many of them have been in place for two years, and they are marked by SatNav systems. So there is no excuse for driving through, and anyone being fined now has chosen to ignore clear traffic rules.”

Resident Toby Lloyd said: “I think they are working very well, air quality has improved and traffic is lower in most roads.”