Labour council forced to axe LTN that raked in £1m
It comes after Mr Justice Smith ruled in May that Lambeth council had ignored residents' 'legitimate concerns' about the zone in West Dulwich, south London.
The judge has now rejected an appeal by the authority against the ruling, while ordering the scheme to be axed and the council to pay £35,000 in legal fees.
It is the first time that an LTN, a zone where traffic is restricted in residential roads and fines are issued to unauthorised vehicles that enter the area, has been shut down by the courts.
The West Dulwich Action Group (WDAG), which brought the case after claiming the street closures had increased traffic and pollution on roads bordering the zone, welcomed the ruling and called for the council to repay the £1,080,580 in fines raised through the scheme.
The campaigners also said it set 'a powerful precedent' for residents locked in similar battles nationwide.
A WDAG spokesman said: 'This ruling is definitive – the LTN was unlawful. The council has lost, has been denied permission to appeal, and must now face the consequences of what that means.
'At the top of that list is the £1 million in fines it issued while the unlawful scheme was in place.
'We now call on Lambeth Council to clarify whether it will refund those fines. This is not just about legality – it's about fairness and public trust. If the law was broken, the money should be paid back.'
The group also urged the council not to squander any more public funds by pursuing the case further at the Court of Appeal.
'Doing so would further waste taxpayers' money and signal that its priority is protecting revenue, not engaging with the community it serves,' they added.
'Let's be clear: this case should never have gone to court. It could have been resolved through proper, respectful dialogue. Instead, Lambeth chose to defend litigation over listening – and the public has paid for it.'
'Wake-up call to councils everywhere'
The WDAG statement added: 'It's a wake-up call to councils everywhere: to not impose blanket schemes ignoring genuine concerns and issues, and to work with your communities.
'We again invite Lambeth to return to the table and help co-create fairer, smarter approaches to car use, pollution, road safety, and sustainable travel – with data, community support, and clear success measures at the heart of every decision.'
In a thinly veiled criticism of town hall bosses, Mr Justice Smith said in his ruling that allowing the council to 'revoke' the LTN rather than having it 'quashed' by a court ruling would fail to properly 'reflect the reality' of the battle waged by local campaigners.
He wrote: 'Revoking the orders after I have made a finding of unlawfulness leaves the same impression as would an attempt to resign immediately after one has been fired.'
The judge also rejected the council's attempt to defer scrapping the LTN because the local authority had 'known of the need to instruct these works to take place since May 9' when it lost the High Court case.
He said an attempt by Lambeth to avoid paying all of WDAG's legal costs because the campaigners only won one of the three legal challenges was 'misconceived' because the residents had been 'wholly successful.'
Legal battle 'completely successful'
Mr Justice Smith wrote: 'Here the claimant came to court seeking a quashing of the [traffic] orders. It has gone away having achieved that objective. It has therefore been completely successful.
'The fact that the claimant has succeeded in only one of its three grounds of claim does not alter the fact that it has been wholly successful in its aims.'
In his initial ruling in May, Mr Justice Smith found that the council was guilty of a 'serious failing' after it ignored an 'impressive' report which warned that the street closures could lead to increased congestion and pollution elsewhere in the borough.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
UK companies that pay suppliers late will be fined under new law
Companies that continually pay their suppliers late will face fines under new legislation announced today. Sir Keir Starmer said 'it's time to pay up' as the Prime Minister announced plans to impose fines on large companies that persistently pay suppliers late. As many as 38 businesses shut down each day, partly owing to late payments, according to the Government, with tradespeople, shopkeepers and start-up founders particularly vulnerable. It is estimated that late payments cost the economy £11bilion a year. 'Late payments are one of the biggest barriers to small business growth - causing cashflow problems that stop firms from scaling up and investing in their future,' the Government said. 'Every day, hardworking businesses close their doors because they aren't paid on time.' The small business commissioner will be handed new powers, including carrying out spot checks and enforcing a 30-day invoice verification period to speed up resolutions to disputes. The legislation will also introduce maximum payment terms of 60 days, reducing to 45 days, to ensure businesses are paid on time. Small businesses have been quietly battling late payments, with the issue only worsening since the cost of living crisis. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses trade body in 2023 found if late payments had been made on time, 50,000 business closures could be avoided each year. The definition of prompt payment for a small business suppliers, as per the Prompt Payment Code (PPC), is to pay 95 per cent of invoices from small businesses with fewer than 50 employees within 30 days. However, the code is voluntary and plenty of businesses flout the rules. The Prime Minister said: 'From builders and electricians to freelance designers and manufacturers - too many hardworking people are being forced to spend precious hours chasing payments instead of doing what they do best – growing their businesses. 'It's unfair, it's exhausting, and it's holding Britain back. So, our message is clear: it's time to pay up.' Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the FSB added: 'Today's plan is an encouraging commitment from the Government to take the side of small businesses in the great growth challenge ahead.' The crackdown on late payments is part of a wider package, including plans to pump £4billion of financial support into small businesses. This includes £1billion for new firms, with 69,000 start-up loans and mentoring support.
The Sun
15 minutes ago
- The Sun
Parents being pressured into upgrading to faster broadband by kids as young as FIVE, survey reveals
ONE in 10 parents have changed their broadband provider - due to demands of their children. A study, of 2,000 parents with children still at home, found 48 per cent feel pressured by their offspring to make decisions around the house. 1 Kids, aged between five and eight, were found to be most demanding when it comes to the internet, and spend on average two hours a day using it - from streaming to gaming. And almost a third of parents (31 per cent) said their children use it for more than four hours-a-day - adding up to around two continuous months of usage a year. The same amount (31 per cent) admitted to threatening to turn off Wi-Fi as punishment, which led to arguments in 53 per cent of cases. After recent Ofcom reports of YouTube becoming the first place younger viewers go after they switch on their TV sets, the need for powerful home streaming is more important than ever. Stephen Warburton, MD of Zen Internet's consumer division, which commissioned the survey, said: 'With summer holidays upon us, the demand for fast, reliable internet at home is only going to rise. 'With so many connected devices - from games consoles to smart TVs - competing for bandwidth, it's crucial to have a connection that can handle it all. 'Otherwise buffering could be a permanent feature when you are streaming, gaming, and taking video calls. 'The news this week of YouTube being more popular than ever among younger viewers highlights this need for a robust connection.' The study also found 32 per cent of parents believe their children are 'addicted' to the services that come from the internet. With children being off school, 54 per cent of parents expect their internet usage to go up over the summer holidays. Almost two thirds of children use the internet most for gaming (61 per cent), followed by watching YouTube or streaming platforms (60 per cent) and TV or films (57 per cent) reflecting the findings in Ofcom's report. To combat over-use, more than half (55 per cent) of parents have implemented limits on how long their children can use the internet for. Of those parents surveyed that also work from home, a third (33 per cent) admitted their child is a distraction when they're off school during the work day. Highlighting the difficulties with broadband - 24 per cent of home workers admitted slow internet speed was their greatest challenge, according to the figures. And to overcome it 34 per cent have taken to sitting by the router to get the best possible connection - and 35 per cent have told others to disconnect so they got priority access. The spokesperson for Zen Internet added: 'When you are working from home a slow broadband connection can be a roadblock for productivity. 'By doing a simple internet speed test you can develop a great understanding of whether you are getting what you should be. 'A download speed of around 100Mbps is recommended to seamlessly game and take video calls concurrently, although if there is considerable usage you may consider going for a higher speeds.'
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inheritance tax net catches thousands more families in a year: Here's how you CAN cut your bill
The number of families paying inheritance tax soared 13 per cent in a year, fresh official data reveals. Some 31,500 families paid the much-hated death duties on a loved one's estate in 2022-23, according to the most recent tax office data available. That's compared to 27,800 the previous tax year. A total £6.7billion was handed over to the taxman in 2022-23 - up 12 per cent on the previous year. Almost half of the estates handing over money to the Exchequer were in London and the South East. The lowest number of taxpaying estates were in the North East, Northern Ireland and Wales, mainly due to lower house prices. Britain's most-hated tax is already rich pickings for the Chancellor, but experts warn these latest figures – which are from the 2022-23 tax year because of the time it takes to settle an IHT liability – are just the 'tip of the iceberg'. A combination of frozen tax thresholds and soaring asset values has already dragged thousands more families into paying death duties. The tax is levied at a 40 per cent rate on an estate over a £325,000 threshold. Those who leave their property to direct descendants have an extra £175,00 tax-free allowance, meaning £500,000 is exempt. But the £325,000 threshold - known as the nil-rate band – has been frozen since 2009 which has pulled middle-income families into the tax net as their asset and property values soar in a phenomenon known as fiscal drag. Fewer than one in 20 UK deaths resulted in an IHT charge but this is set to soar to one in ten by the end of the decade as the Treasury's net widens. This latest data reveals a growing squeeze on grieving middle-class families – and that's before the sweeping IHT changes announced at last year's Budget come into place. Droves of estates are anticipated to fall into the tax net in the coming years, says Ben Handley, a tax partner at accountancy firm BDO, as 'seismic changes to the regime' come into force from 2026. 'From next April, the capping of business and agricultural relief to £1million of qualifying assets will bring many business and farm owners into scope for IHT for the first time.' And the increased burden doesn't stop there. Not only are the thresholds frozen for an extra two years – until April 2030 – swathes of bereaved families will be pulled into the net from 2027 as unspent defined contribution pension pots will be included in an estate. It's a move that has upended many people's retirement planning and will slash the legacy families will be able to pass on free of the much-hated duty. Mr Handley says: 'These changes will impact around 8 per cent of estates – and add significant administrative burdens to families at a difficult time.' The most recent data on tax receipts reveals the Exchequer has already raked £2.22billion into its coffers between April and June this year – a 6 per cent hike on last year. Annual IHT receipts are forecast to soar to £14.3 billion in 2029-30. Ian Dyall, head of estate planning at wealth manager Evelyn Partners, explains the bulk of money handed over to the tax office is currently made by a small number of very large estates. 'Families with that level of wealth tend not to garner much sympathy but the Treasury cannot sustainably prop up the public finances by taxing the wealthiest 1 or 2 per cent forever without consequence. 'The danger with seeking further taxation of wealth at the next Budget – whether that is via capital gains tax, inheritance tax or some other mechanism – is that such households, which are often wealth and business creators in themselves and quite mobile, could get fed up and leave the country.' How to slash your inheritance tax bill There are ways you can hand over a legacy to children and grandchildren while keeping your hard-earned cash out of the Chancellor's clutches. If you leave your property to a direct descendant – such as children or grandchildren – you get an extra tax-free allowance of up to £175,000. That means an easy way to prevent a huge tax bill after death is to give your home to your children. Between a couple, that means you can pass on a £1million family home free of the death duties. If you want to pass on any cash or material gifts, make them earlier instead of later. This is because gifts that you give away during your lifetime are free from IHT so long as you survive for seven years after giving them. Die within seven years and they count towards your tax-free allowance of £325,000, so they reduce the amount of your estate that can be passed on without incurring a bill. Gifts made over your nil-rate band of £325,000 benefit could benefit from taper relief. The closer to the full seven years you survive, the less tax your beneficiaries need to pay. For a payment made in the last three years before death, the full 40 per cent is levied. But any gifts made four to five years ago face a 24 per cent charge, while those made five to six years before your death have a 16 per cent IHT rate. Those given six to seven years ago are charged at 8 per cent. Make payments sooner rather than later to lessen the chance that your loved ones will foot a huge 40 per cent tax bill. Plus, you can make the most of your gifting allowances to pass on wealth tax-free while you are still alive. Everyone gets a £3,000 annual gift allowance, which is exempt from their estate. Plus, if you didn't use this year's allowance you can carry it forward to the next tax year, but it can't be carried forward any further. This means a couple could give away up to £12,000 completely free of IHT in one tax year. The seven-year rule does not apply here, so if you die within that period of making these gifts there is still no IHT payable. You can also give away an unlimited number of small gifts up to £250, so long as you haven't used another IHT allowance on the same recipient. Another nifty trick to reduce the tax bill on your estate is to make a tax-free gift to someone getting married or entering a civil partnership. You can give £5,000 to a child, £2,500 to a grandchild or great-grandchild and £1,000 to anyone else. But these gifts need to be made 'in consideration of' a marriage or civil partnership so payments must be made just before it takes place and not after. Growing numbers of families are also considering putting life insurance policies into trust to pay any potential tax bill. These pay out to your loved ones when you die and if they are placed correctly into trust they are treated as if they are not part of your estate – and therefore free of inheritance tax. You can appoint one or more beneficiaries who will be paid the full policy sum when you die. However, this can be a costly planning tool and may come with risks. For example, you may forfeit the cover if you stop paying the premiums at any point. Once you start paying it, it can be difficult to increase your cover should your IHT liability rise. Seek expert advice before going ahead. Arguably the most generous allowance is known as gifts out of normal expenditure, where you can gift an unlimited amount of money. However, there are strict criteria you must meet. The payment must be regular, out of income and must not affect your standard of living - and you must keep good records.
