Camden Council has paused its LTNS plans for Dartmouth Park

THE proposed Low Traffic Neighbourhood for Dartmouth Park is “going back to the drawing board” following objections.

This week, the council stated it would rethink its proposal to make the Dartmouth Park area a “healthy neighbourhood” and introduce restrictions on motor vehicles. There was strong opposition from local people.

Leader of the council Councillor Richard Olszewski said: “Here in Camden, we always listen to the people who live, work and travel in an area when we suggest changes.

“Because of the feelings and observations you shared we are going back to the drawing board. We will take this opportunity to revisit our ideas for the area within the three-year Transport Strategy delivery plan.

“This Delivery Plan will invest more than £22m in ambitious schemes for active travel, public transport and high streets across the borough. We remain committed to investing to tackle the problems our initial proposals sought to address, and hope that residents will continue to work with us so that we can make the areas around Dartmouth Park better for local people.”

Last summer the council announced a “co-design phase” to gather feedback from residents about the proposals. The feedback was “extensive” and almost 700 people attended online and in-person events to share their views.

Green Party councillor Lorna Jane Russell said: “The community feeling is clear: this pause is a sensible decision and welcome news, and I’m pleased common sense has prevailed.

“As a Green Party councillor, I do want to see improved measures to improve traffic and pollution in our area, and to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety.

“I will therefore be staying close to the process to ensure that we can achieve these ambitions with a scaled-back plan that is better suited to the area and reflects the community’s diverse needs.”

“The Highgate Society shares the goal of safe and healthy streets for everyone. Achieving this requires well-planned, evidence-based solutions. We welcome the commitment to including consideration of the surrounding streets as well as the streets within the defined area, which must necessarily include the impact on boundary roads and external roads including in nearby Haringey areas as well as in Islington.

“We confirm our readiness to work constructively with Councillors and the Safe Travel Team to achieve a reduction in pollution and congestion and a healthier and safer environment for everyone.  In the meantime, we await the formal report on the co-design phase later this Spring.

A report of the “co-design phase” will be available in the Spring.