Neil Christie

HIGHBURY’S low-traffic neighbourhood was made permanent last Friday, meaning the traffic filters, cameras and pedestrianised streets – all brought in by Islington Council to reduce car use and pollution – are here to stay.

The scheme – which began with a trial in January 2021 – aimed to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle, and improve air quality, yet local business owners are concerned it has decreased access to their businesses and anti-LTN campaigners argue it has increased traffic – and pollution – on the boundary roads.

According to Islington’s figures, traffic within LTNs has gone down by three quarters but also fallen – by 4% – on boundary roads. The only boundary road in the borough where traffic increased, in fact, is the north end of Blackstock Road in Finsbury Park, which saw a rise of a third.

The LTN in Highbury runs from Finsbury Park tube station to St Paul’s Road, in Highbury, with the surrounding streets closed off to through ­traffic.

Joanna Sargent – who founded anti-LTN group Keep Highbury Moving – says she isn’t surprised by the LTN becoming permanent. “It was never going to be reversed… Nobody spends thousands of pounds on infrastructure to take it all out”, she said, adding: “It’s so profitable for the council… they’ve made a lot of money”. She referred to the fines from LTN cameras. Highbury Hill was the highest-grossing road, with £1.8 million collected from January 2021 to January 2023.

Neil Christie, who lives in Highbury, is in favour of the decision. “I think it’s made a real positive impact on the area, the roads are safer, quieter and more pleasant,” he said. “The atmosphere is much livelier… and more of a neighbourhood community feel. There are loads more people out and about walking and cycling.”

Highbury Grove postman Tomas Ziemian is a critic. “It doesn’t work for everybody. It works for people that are in the low-traffic neighbourhood, obviously the area’s cleaner. For the people that live on the main streets, they are not very happy about it.”

He says the LTN has made his job “more difficult,” as “instead of cutting through the streets, I have to go all the way around. That creates pollution as well, because I have to do an extra 10 miles a day.”

Mike Wickwar, who works at the Highbury Barn Tavern, said it hadn’t affected business as “there’s nowhere to park” and most customers live locally.