Key Points
- Croydon Council has refunded £520,951 of the £13,038,464.18 it collected from Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) fines, which works out to about 4 per cent of the total.
- In March, the High Court struck down all six of the borough’s LTN schemes, finding the council operated them mainly to raise revenue instead of cutting traffic.
- The £13 million total came from enforcement during two phases between November 2023 and February 2026.
- Drivers have filed 6,167 claims for refunds since the council set up an online portal in April.
- Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden and Croydon Mayor Jason Perry are urging every eligible motorist to apply for a refund immediately.
Croydon (South London News) September 1, 2026 – Almost six months after the High Court quashed six Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) schemes across the borough, figures reveal Croydon Council has returned barely 4 per cent of the total fine revenue collected from drivers.
As detailed in a report by Jodie Chay O’Neill for Regit, official municipal data shows that of the £13,038,464.18 amassed through penalty charge notices, exactly £520,951 has been successfully reimbursed to affected motorists. High Court judge Mr Justice Pepperall struck down the schemes in March, determining that the dominant driver behind retaining the restrictions was
“the need to safeguard the revenue raised by enforcement”.
How Did Croydon Council Generate Over £13 Million in LTN Fines?
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods utilise physical barriers, planters, and enforcement cameras to restrict motor vehicles from navigating specific residential bypasses. In Croydon, enforcement figures document a substantial income stream across two distinct operational windows.
Between March 2024 and February 2026, the council collected £7,210,328.18 from enforcement activity. Newly released accounting covering the preceding trial period—running from November 2023 to March 2024—revealed an additional £5,828,136 was accumulated. Combined, the traffic zones generated over £13 million.
As reported by Jodie Chay O’Neill of Regit, enforcement over just 11km (6.8 miles) of municipal roadways averaged £300,000 per month, peaking above £480,000 in a single calendar month. During the initial trial phase, a single camera setup at the junction of Derby Road and Clarendon Road netted nearly £250,000 within 30 days.
While an online portal was launched in April to process driver applications, the local authority stopped short of guaranteeing an automatic blanket return of all total sums. Municipal records confirm that 6,167 applications have been submitted by drivers thus far.
What Are Politicians and Local Campaigners Saying About the Figures?
Political figures and community groups have responded strongly to the slow pace of repayments.
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden criticised the underlying policy, stating:
“Labour’s low traffic neighbourhoods in Croydon were unlawful, and it was drivers who paid for them. The previous Conservative Government put in clear guidance saying councils must listen to local people and keep these schemes under proper review. Labour ditched that guidance and imposed these schemes with Sadiq Khan’s backing. Croydon’s Conservative mayor scrapped all six zones the moment the High Court ruled. Every driver who paid a penalty in those zones should put in a claim, and I would encourage them to do so today”.
Croydon’s Conservative Executive Mayor, Jason Perry, endorsed those comments and placed responsibility on previous municipal leadership:
“Richard is absolutely right. These deeply unpopular schemes were imposed by Croydon’s previous Labour administration in 2020 with Sadiq Khan’s backing, despite the concerns of residents and businesses. I inherited them alongside a council Labour had bankrupted, with millions of pounds in anticipated fine income already built into its finances. I worked to reduce their impact by removing physical barriers and introducing free resident permits. When the High Court ruled, I acted immediately: accepting the judgment, refusing to pursue a lengthy appeal and scrapped all six schemes”.
Mayor Perry added:
“I welcome Richard’s support in encouraging every eligible motorist to submit a refund claim. Labour treated Croydon’s drivers as a cash cow; we have put residents first, removed these schemes and ensured they will never return whilst I am Mayor”.
As recorded by Jodie Chay O’Neill of Regit, local resident Karen Lawrence, who led original legal actions against the council, highlighted the personal toll of the closures:
“These closures had such a big impact on my movement around Croydon. I am so glad the courts vindicated what we all thought these were truly about… money”.
Other accounts from residents detail aggressive debt recovery tactics. The daughter of resident Roger Minnis recounted that her father received a fine while travelling to an urgent medical appointment following abdominal surgery. She characterised the administration’s subsequent response as “absolutely disgusting”, reporting that her family was subjected to “aggressive” and “threatening” debt collection agency proceedings while actively attempting to settle the dispute.
Spokespersons for the resident campaign group Open Our Roads expressed shock at the revenue totals but welcomed the application structure:
“The figures quoted suggest they were not performing their stated objectives, given the high level of enforcement revenue, but we are pleased the current administration has swiftly put processes in place to refund the fines wrongfully taken”.
The group confirmed receipt of over 1,000 support messages, noting similar concerns regarding enforcement income in neighbouring boroughs.
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Background of the Development
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods were widely introduced across London boroughs in 2020 under emergency active travel framework provisions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Designed to reduce residential traffic, lower emissions, and encourage cycling or walking, the schemes frequently relied on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to enforce access restrictions.
In Croydon, the implementation sparked immediate friction between residents, local businesses, and municipal authorities. Critics argued the zones displaced traffic onto perimeter roads, created severe congestion, and penalized essential vehicle journeys. Following political shifts in May 2022, incoming Conservative Mayor Jason Perry pledged to scrap the zones. However, as noted in the High Court judgment from Mr Justice Pepperall in March, municipal budget deficits inherited from the previous administration delayed removal, as predicted fine revenues had been built directly into council financial projections.
The legal challenge mounted by local residents culminated in the High Court ruling, which determined that using traffic regulation orders primarily to secure revenue streams rather than manage traffic constitutes an improper use of statutory powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
Prediction: How This Development Will Affect Motorists and Local Authorities
The outcome of the High Court ruling and the ongoing refund backlog in Croydon are expected to have significant repercussions across the UK transport sector:
- Increased Claim Volumes for Croydon Motorists: With fewer than 7,000 claims processed out of hundreds of thousands of potential penalty charge notices issued over a two-year window, public awareness campaigns will likely trigger a substantial surge in driver claims. This may place additional operational burdens on Croydon Council’s administrative systems.
- Legal Precedents for Other Boroughs: Local authorities across Greater London and England operating camera-enforced LTNs face heightened legal vulnerability. Driver advocacy groups are likely to use the Pepperall judgment to challenge similar schemes where fine income appears disproportionate to recorded traffic reduction.
- Fiscal Pressures on Local Councils: Municipal authorities that have relied on enforcement revenue to balance transportation budgets will face direct financial exposure. Councils may need to audit their active traffic management plans to ensure compliance, potentially risking forced repayments or the loss of projected income.
