Croydon Council has refunded a mere £520,951 to motorists, a fraction of the more than £13 million collected from fines issued during its now-unlawful Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) schemes. The council was compelled to withdraw all six of its LTNs in March after a High Court judge determined they were primarily established to generate revenue.
Nearly six months after the ruling, documents reveal that only about 4% of the total fines levied over a two-year period have been reimbursed. The council generated £7,210,328.18 from the LTNs between March 2024 and February 2026. An additional £5,828,136 was collected during a trial period from November 2023 to March 2024, bringing the total revenue to over £13 million. This amounts to an average of approximately £300,000 per month, with one scheme alone generating nearly £250,000 in a single month during the trial.
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are designed to reduce traffic in residential areas using measures such as cameras, planters, or lockable bollards. However, Croydon's schemes were invalidated when Mr. Justice Pepperall stated he was satisfied that "the dominant purpose" of making the zones permanent after a trial was "the need to safeguard the revenue raised by enforcement."
Following the court's decision, drivers have submitted 6,167 applications for refunds. The council's Conservative mayor, Jason Perry, who took office in May 2022, stated that he inherited the schemes and a financially strained council from the previous Labour administration, which had incorporated anticipated fine income into its budget. Perry said he acted immediately to scrap the schemes after the High Court ruling and encouraged eligible motorists to submit refund claims.
Perry criticized the former Labour administration and Sadiq Khan's backing for the schemes, which he described as deeply unpopular and imposed despite resident concerns. He added that he worked to reduce their impact by removing physical barriers and introducing free resident permits, but acknowledged that the previous administration's financial projections meant he could not remove the schemes on his first day in office. Perry asserted that his administration prioritizes residents and has ensured these schemes will not return under his leadership.
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden echoed Perry's sentiments, stating that Labour's LTNs in Croydon were unlawful and that drivers bore the cost. He criticized Labour for abandoning guidance that required councils to listen to local people and keep schemes under review.
Karen Lawrence, who led the legal challenge, expressed satisfaction that the courts vindicated the belief that the schemes were primarily for financial gain. Residents have shared accounts of financial hardship, including being pursued by debt collectors for hundreds of pounds. One resident's daughter recounted her father being fined for an urgent GP appointment while recovering from surgery and described the council's debt collection agency as aggressive and threatening.
The resident group Open Our Roads expressed shock at the scale of revenue raised, suggesting the schemes were not fulfilling their stated objectives. They commended the current administration for establishing refund processes for wrongfully collected fines.