“We’re supposed to be a free country! But they’re going to tell you if you can have a car or you can’t have a car.”
Brandon Estate resident Les, 73, was reacting to the words of Clare Wood, a Green Party candidate in Newington ward where Les lives, who argued that people should be discouraged from owning cars as part of Southwark Council’s efforts to tackle the climate and environmental crisis.
One of the most controversial aspects of Southwark’s plan is the low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) – which block access to some streets for most vehicles. The LTNs were brought in in 2020 as part of a London-wide effort to cut air pollution during the pandemic and free up space on our streets.
Critics argue that there was not enough consultation for these schemes, one of which is in Newington, and that the road closures mean more traffic on neighbouring streets – possibly driving up air pollution for the people who live there.
Les and his partner Kym, a Newington Estate resident, were taking part in the third episode episode of Southwark Soap Box, our project to boost awareness of some of the issues at stake in the local elections on May 5.
Focusing on Newington, located between Walworth, Kennington and Elephant and Castle, we have interviewed candidates for the elections on three key topics: crime, housing, and the environment and transport – before showing the debates to four diverse households in the ward.
Green candidate Ms Wood said: “We do have to transition to – ideally – a car free society… 23 per cent of emissions in London come from domestic travel and we have to do something about it…
“We need to do something about parking that makes it a bit… trickier for people to own a car. Some people really need cars but if we find ways to facilitate the people who don’t really need them to transition out of them, then those people who do will find their journeys much more pleasant, apart from anything else.”
Some others in our focus group also disagreed with Ms Wood’s views about car ownership. Mother of four Ola, who also lives on the Brandon Estate, said: “They don’t live in my household with me to know the reason why I need a car.”
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Emma, an Oyster Court leaseholder with her husband Neil, and who does not own a car, said people should not be told what to do by politicians. “You can’t tell people they need to transition now from having a car to not, because everyone can make their own free choice,” she said.
Natasha Ennin, a Labour candidate for the ward – where all three councillors are currently Labour – said that the point of the LTNs was to encourage people to think about walking or cycling journeys that are under two kilometres (about 1.2 miles).
“During the pandemic there were issues around health [and active travel] and obviously a key part of that was encouraging walking and cycling in response to the reduced bus capacity,” she said.
But Ola took issue with the idea that she could cycle around while managing her young family. “Sorry, not when I’ve got four children, how do I ride a bicycle with four kids! No thanks.”
As for walking, that also got short shrift from Ola: “Do you actually think I want to go shopping with them in hand without driving. No thank you. Unless [the council] wants to pay for my cab!”
Paula, who lives on the Brandon Estate with her adult daughter Kate, said that cycling was not for everyone. “ I cycle to work but… they cannot think that for all ages that will apply.
“Weather is another issue. Days like this, it’s glorious! But when it’s right in the middle of the winter, you may think twice, no matter what age you are.”
Kym, Les’ partner, who is struggling with a “busted” knee at the moment, put it plainly: “some people can’t walk”.
James Gurling, who is seeking to reclaim his old position as a Liberal Democrat councillor in Newington, said that he supported the idea of cleaning up Southwark’s air – but the sudden imposition of LTNs in 2020 was “a shocking way to treat a local community.”
“The big problem behind this is the way this was all done, and the speed at which it was done, and the level of inclusiveness that came through some of these schemes… What needed to have happened was a better degree of consultation right at the start… some of that would have improved it, some of that would have explained the thinking behind it.”
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Mr Gurling went on: “Involve people earlier, they’ll understand what’s happening, they’ll get with the programme, they’ll make it better!”
Speaking to Les, Kym said: “Kym: We wasn’t told about it, was we?” Les agreed that they didn’t hear anything. Kym went on: “Before it happened, we just went out there one day and ‘oh’”.
Defending Labour, Ms Ennin said that the funding the council got from mayor Sadiq Khan was dependent on bringing in LTNs quickly and that Covid-19 restrictions made consulting difficult. Some 11,000 people have now been consulted across the borough, as well as about 130 businesses in Walworth.
But she admitted that the communication at the start of the process should have been more effective. “There should have been better consultation, but within the time restraints, it didn’t happen. There should have been a big push.”
Despite the criticism from some of our focus groups, Emma and Neil said they thought the Walworth LTN was “a good thing”. Emma said: “We definitely felt safer walking around with our children.” Neil agreed that he felt safer but admitted the scheme was “annoying” for people with cars.
And Kym, for whom the LTN is “a pain” because of her injured knee, said she understands why it was brought in. “It’s good for some things.”