• I AM writing about a failure of policy between the government and Transport for London/Camden Council over Covid, misdirection of public funds, and misuse of Covid emergency powers relating to bollards installed at the junction of Savernake and Constantine Road.

The failure and mismatch of policy is that I discovered that bollards erected in Savernake and Constantine Road on May 21 are part of a programme being implemented Camden-wide to block up rat-runs with the intention of dissuading drivers from using their cars at a time when the government is directing that we should be minimising use of public transport and using our cars to be safe.

A letter allegedly sent to residents, explaining why the bollards are being put in, stated that they wished to stop cars driving up and down the road for environmental reasons due to a school at the end of Savernake Road; but the initiative has been pushed through using Covid emergency powers, therefore no consultation, because it is alleged to assist with social distancing.

This is clearly not correct. There is no problem related to Covid that will be fixed by the bollards and near them is the railway bridge leading on to Hampstead Heath, used by hundreds or thousands every day, where there is a very real problem with social distancing that the council have done nothing about.

This is also poorly thought through. Due to the lack of consultation there has been no thought to implementing a one-way system to sort out the chaos the bollards will cause or security measure to mitigate risks around group gatherings at the entrance to the Heath, now there are no cars driving through, and increased burglary risks for those living in the area due to no through-route for police patrols.

Camden are using public money to put lives at risk by implementing policies that dissuade people from driving their cars in contradiction to central government policy; and also misusing Covid emergency powers and public money to drive through poorly-considered pet projects around green issues with serious safety implications for residents.

SEAN TITLEY
Address supplied