No cars today! The fences in West End Lane, West Hampstead, on Sunday

BY LUCY HICKS BEACH

A CAR-free day event was a “great success”, say organisers, despite volunteers facing the wrath of frustrated drivers.

The West Hampstead Amenity & Transport (WHAT) event shut West End Lane in West Hampstead between 7am and 6pm on Sunday.

Buses and emergency vehicles were allowed down the street that was lined with community stalls, performances by musicians and the Camden Mobile Health bus.

Organisers are hoping it will become a fixture in the annual NW6 calendar.

Janet Grauberg, the new chair of WHAT, said: “It was a great success, in that lots of passers-by on the day gave positive comments and enjoyed seeing West End Lane without cars.”

But she added that drivers were frustrated by the road closure, with some becoming aggressive towards the volunteer stewards manning the barriers.

Ms Grauberg, a former Camden councillor, said: “We had lots of anger from drivers on the day; it was horrible. The stewards had quite a lot of abuse thrown at them. At least two drivers, one car and one motorbike, drove at the stewards.”

Scott Emery and Janet Grauberg on steward duty

She added: “It is inconvenient for drivers, but it is one day a year where we get to see those who use public transport, who walk and who cycle take precedence on West End Lane.”

The closure of a major thoroughfare spilled traffic into surrounding streets and led to unexpected delays for people on the weekend. It also created some difficulty for customers driving to businesses in the street, according to a manager at West End Greens, who did not wish to be named.

He said: “It affected customers from other areas who normally drive to us, because they could not come and park their cars.”

But Molly Thompson, the general manager of House of Books in West End Lane, said: “Honestly, the best thing about the day was the lack of noise pollution. The amount of car horns and radios we hear throughout the day is really disruptive to the atmosphere of our shop – to have it replaced with a live folk band outside the library was wonderful. Can it happen every weekend?”

A bit of music outside the library in West Hampstead

WHAT was founded in 1973 in response to the threat of a new motorway extension being built through the area.

The group first closed West End Lane to cars as part of that campaign and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Families vaccinated their children for flu and people accessed health services at the Camden Mobile Health bus that was stationed in the road. WHAT hopes enough people will come forward to volunteer next year to ensure that the event can happen again.