“Discourteous and selfish” traffic rules introduced by Croydon Council have caused legal issues with a neighbouring borough.

Bromley Council says that low traffic neighbourhoods near the border have caused increased congestion on its side.

They’re now beginning legal work to remove barriers and planters, saying “in situations such as this, councils are instructed in law to give notice of their intentions to neighbouring boroughs”.

However, they say they “hope for an amicable withdrawal”.

We contacted Croydon Council for comment:


Councillor Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council said, “In situations such as this, Councils are instructed in law to give notice of their intentions to neighbouring Boroughs.

Had Bromley been asked, it would have been able to foresee the obvious concerns which have subsequently arisen and object, given that what is self-evidently happening here is that Croydon are deliberately diverting traffic from their own roads onto Bromley's, which apart from being discourteous and selfish to local Bromley residents disadvantage, does not solve the problem but simply transfers it elsewhere.

It also flies directly in the face of the Mayor for London’s stated policy around improving air quality, as the cause and consequence has been to make congestion and air pollution far worse locally due to traffic getting snarled up in longer queues with longer waiting times, or having to take wider diversions and travel longer distances, creating problems in new places.

To this end I am advised that the junction of the A213 and A215 (just across the Borough boundary in Croydon) has also become a serious cause for concern in recent times as well, due to the excesses of the ‘Lancaster Road’ scheme there, which threatens further delays and the backing up of traffic into additional Bromley roads adjoining the A213 when the schools return in two weeks’ time.
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Whilst Bromley Council has raised the formal concern with Croydon Council and we still hope for an amicable withdrawal of what has been set in place, our next step procedurally over coming days will be to call on the Mayor for London to use his powers to order the barriers removal, but let’s hope against hope that doesn’t prove necessary and common sense prevails.”