Mo Miah on opposition to LTNs

A group of people standing behind a table — Image via Facebook/Newham Says NO to LTN’s

I feel compelled to respond to the recent letter from Safer Streets Woodgrange, which questioned the credibility of our petition, suggesting the numbers were inflated and unverifiable. The facts say otherwise.

We attended a meeting on 26 June 2023 with the Mayor of Newham and Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainable Transport, where Council officers, confirmed a very high level of response to the consultation and engagement process for Woodgrange and Capel LTN, including:

1,186 responses to the online survey
297 contributions to the map-based survey
194 direct emails
Two petitions: one with 1,794 hand-signed entries, accompanied by 25 letters from businesses and organisations, submitted by our group; and another petition with 151 signatures.

In addition to the physical petition, our group also collected 355 online signatures.

By contrast, Safer Streets Woodgrange continues to reference an open petition and survey that does not require signatories to verify where they live. For an issue impacting a defined local area, this raises questions about the representativeness and accountability of the data being collected.

Of more concern is what’s happening across other parts of Newham, where LTNs have already been implemented without timely, inclusive engagement. Many residents in those zones now live with the unintended consequences — displaced traffic, increased boundary road congestion, and daily inconvenience. They tell us they had no meaningful chance to object.

That’s why we’ve launched Newham Says NO to LTNs page on Facebook, a space where residents, wherever they live in the Borough, can share their experience, raise concerns, and document their story, especially those excluded from digital consultations or overlooked in policy design.

We all want safer, healthier streets. But let’s not confuse silence with support, or online momentum with democratic mandate.

Mo Miah, representing residents and businesses opposing LTNs in Newham

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