Many residents have complained to the council – and written letters to the Tribune – over Lime e-bikes

LIME could be evicted from Islington from March as a series of fraught negotiations have left Town Hall chiefs “minded” not to renew the e-bike operator’s contract.

A final meeting is scheduled between Islington Council supremos and senior representatives at Lime this month in a last-ditch effort to get the transport company to cave in to their demands.

But council sources said that the “current stance” was that the Town Hall would not renew Lime’s contract “based on a lack of progress”.

“We’re at the end of our tether with Lime”, said one person involved in the negotiations.

“They’ve consistently been evasive and dishonest. This isn’t a game of brinkmanship and they don’t seem to realise we can exist without them.”

Ending the contract would likely lead to a red-zone being placed over the borough, within which the bikes cannot be parked.

The contract would be put out for tender, with other companies allowed to pitch to run their service in Islington.

The final straw comes after a months-long dispute between the Town Hall and e-bike operators over operating practices which are causing disturbances.

Residents have repeatedly complained to the council – and written countless letters to this paper – that the electric two-wheelers are parked in inappropriate places and night-time loading of the vehicles causes noise.

In December, council leader Una O’Halloran said that Lime and Forest were on their “last warning” as they had failed to tackle dangerous parking and poor rider behaviour.

In a letter to the operators, Cllr O’Halloran and environment chief Rowena Champion warned that “persistent problems are undermining the benefits”, and that issues had been “raised repeatedly but remain unresolved”.

Senior Town Hall sources said that Forest had responded positively to concerns, while Lime continued to be evasive.

“Lime act as if these are inevitable things we have to put up with in order to enjoy the benefits of e-bikes, yet their direct competitor is delivering the benefits whilst being responsive to the issues it causes some residents. We’re sick of the arrogance,” one said.

There are hundreds of people living in Islington who regularly use Lime, including several councillors, and the company said that they were committed to addressing concerns raised.

A Lime spokesperson said: “We’ve seen significant growth in demand for our service across Islington in the last year, with thousands of residents in the borough relying on Lime bikes to get work, connect with public transport, and get around London daily.

“We recognise that this increased demand has resulted in challenges and are committed to delivering changes to improve parking, address concerns with our operations and fund the creation of more bays to meet the soaring demand for e-bikes amongst Islington residents.

“We’ve had a number of constructive meetings with the council, and are working together to make sure our service works for everyone in Islington for the long-term – whether they ride Lime or not.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “Following Councillor O’Halloran and Councillor Champion’s open letter to e-bike companies in December, we have received substantial feedback from residents which we are taking into consideration.

“We are continuing to work with hire bike operators in Islington, ensuring that we are holding them to account and taking action under environment and highways legislation as appropriate.”