A South London reverend has successfully overturned a £160 penalty charge for driving through a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) after an adjudicator found the road signage was obscured.
Rev Peter Ratcliff is now calling on Merton Council to “do the honourable thing” and refund others in the same situation. The case centred on the LTN restriction at the Abbey Road and High Path junction in South Wimbledon.
Rev Ratcliff, of St John’s Continuing Church in Wimbledon, was recorded driving through the street by ANPR cameras on November 30 last year. Rev Ratcliff, who lives near the restricted road, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he felt compelled to challenge the penalty as he believed it had been unfairly imposed and would likely catch out many other motorists.
“To use a biblical phrase, I could see cars going like lambs to the slaughter,” he said.
LTNs are used by local authorities to restrict certain types of vehicles from passing through residential roads. Rev Ratcliff, who previously faced a similar fine in the borough, argued that the signage for the Abbey Road LTN was inadequate and did not give motorists sufficient time to react, as it was obscured by tree branches.
At a recent London Tribunal hearing held via video link, the adjudicator agreed that key signage displaying the restrictions was not prominently displayed, with one sign obscured by tree foliage and another positioned too far from a driver’s natural line of sight.
The adjudicator ruled that the most important sign, on the left-hand side of the road, only became visible as drivers approached a bend, by which point they were already close to the restricted area. They also noted that a sign on the right-hand side was set back within the junction and less likely to be seen in time.
Finally, the tribunal ruled that warning signs indicating a ‘no through road’ did not adequately alert oncoming motorists to the specific restriction in place. As a result, Rev Ratcliff’s £160 penalty was cancelled in March this year.
However, following his success, Merton Council later sought a review of the decision, arguing that Rev Ratcliff had been aware of the restriction for nearly a year. Rev Ratcliff told the LDRS of his frustration with the council’s attempt to review, saying: “You are not meant to guess where signs are hidden behind trees or remember where they are…You are meant to see them, that is what they are for.”
At a subsequent hearing on April 18, a second adjudicator sided with Rev Ratcliff and upheld the original ruling.
Rev Ratcliff believes Merton Council should now accept appeals from other motorists who have received fines at that same junction. He said: “Trees don’t move, signposts don’t move and width restrictions don’t move, so what applies to me should apply to them. You [the council] have a moral obligation to refund people.”
While he was clear that he was not against the council, he said: “Let us hope that Merton will now do the honourable thing and offer to refund charges to everyone else and also to correct the signage to make it clear.
“I have done what I can for the time being. It is now over to everyone else to politely ask Merton to do the right thing. I will try to help anyone who contacts me if I can.”
A spokesperson for Merton Council said: “The London Tribunals adjudicator found that the signage is up to legal standards. The council acknowledges the decision made by the adjudicator, which is relevant only to this case.
“We are confident that all required signage in the borough – including those for schemes like School Streets or Low Traffic Neighbourhoods – meets the legal standard.”
