London: Islington Residents and Traders Push Back on Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods

Residents and business owners in Mildmay ward, in the London Borough of Islington, challenged the council's Liveable Neighbourhood scheme at a community meeting on Wednesday evening. The low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) measures were designed to cut through-traffic, encourage walking and cycling and lower air pollution, but attendees said they have exposed sharp divisions in the north London borough over consultation, fairness and traders' livelihoods. Islington Council's environment chief, Councillor Rowena Champion, attended to answer questions, alongside Mildmay ward councillors Jackson Caines and Sophia Brown. (Image: file illustration of a low-traffic neighbourhood.)

Consultation called biased: 506 responses from 14,000 residents

Attendees argued that the council's original consultation was “biased” and that negative feedback was routinely “censored” from public records. Official figures show a 2023 council survey on the Mildmay scheme, first introduced in 2020, drew only 506 responses from a ward population of roughly 14,000. One resident said bricks had already been laid to widen pavements, making the ongoing assessment look cosmetic and council decisions a foregone conclusion. Attendees also said no consultation literature was printed in non-English languages for the ward's multicultural population; disabled residents said vehicle filters had severely curtailed their mobility, and women said deserted, traffic-free residential streets left them feeling vulnerable to street crime while walking home late at night.

Traffic said to be pushed onto poorer streets; trader revenue down 40 per cent

When participants were asked to sit at tables reflecting negative, mixed or positive views, more than 20 sat at the anti-LTN table, about eight chose neutral and four sat at the pro-LTN table. Residents of the Mayville estate said displaced traffic and exhaust fumes had been diverted directly onto boundary roads such as Matthias Road, while supporters praised measurable improvements in local air quality. Selma Cicekci, owner of the Kingfisher Cafe on Kingsland High Street, on the Mildmay-Dalston border, told the Islington Tribune, via journalist Amy Reid, that her business has suffered a 40 per cent decline in revenue since Islington Council introduced its local low-traffic neighbourhood measures in November 2024. Ms Cicekci, who inherited the family business from her parents, warned it is nearing insolvency after more than two decades of operation: “At the moment we're just making ends meet. But if all these road closures come in, we'll be locking up shop.”

Council stands by the schemes, but another plan has been dropped

Councillor Champion restated the council's statutory obligation to tackle climate change and urban pollution, saying Liveable Neighbourhoods remain a key part of its approach, with schemes already delivered in Mildmay, Highbury and The Cally as well as improvements in St John Street and Clerkenwell Green. But sustained opposition has already reshaped planning in the borough: she confirmed the proposed Barnsbury and Laycock traffic filtering scheme had been formally abandoned following intense pushback from residents. Local anti-LTN campaigner Rebekah Kelly told the Islington Tribune the scheme “has got to be fairer. We have to do something to reduce traffic and pollution, but not all experiments work. There's no shame in saying, 'okay, we tried that, that didn't work.' It is absolutely a class issue.”