Stop the West & East Greenwich LTN

Help fight for equity, safety and clean air for all, and stop the Royal Borough of Greenwich from the unfair and unlawful enforcement of a scheme the community opposes. We are commencing a legal challenge and urgently need your support.

We are a group of local residents, including GreenwichGoneTooFar, OneGreenwich and various residents’ associations, who came together in 2020 to stop the West Greenwich LTN from causing further danger, division and environmental pollution to everyone in our local community.

Greenwich Council's new scheme in West and East Greenwich threatens to create another environmental and social disaster on a much bigger scale. It will increase already high pollution, harming vulnerable groups and penalising essential travel.

The law is strict about the time available to take action. Consultation, legitimate procedures, and legal obligations have all been ignored by the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Vulnerable people, special needs children and others will suffer. The ‘boundary’ roads are already seriously affected by pollution. So we have instructed lawyers to start work without delay.

Your help is vital right now. Together, we can hold the council accountable and fight for policies that protect equity, safety, and clean air for everyone.

What’s happening?

The West & East Greenwich Neighbourhood Management Scheme surrounds Greenwich Royal Park, between the approach to the Peninsula and Blackwall Tunnel to Greenwich South Street. It is a huge miles long area, and the traffic scheme will have far-reaching consequences:

• health impacts: Increased pollution on residential boundary roads will worsen air quality. It will disproportionately affect excluded communities, families with children, and individuals with disabilities or special needs. Traffic is already being displaced to boundary roads, including Blackheath Hill and Woolwich Road, both of which suffer pollution exceeding the UK Legal Limit. Blackheath Hill sees approximately 33,000 motor vehicles every day and is home to a brain injury rehabilitation hospital, social housing for adults and children with chronic respiratory conditions, and a population that is 58.1% social housing tenants.

Displaced traffic is also impacting Charlton, which has been forced to accept floods of traffic from the East Greenwich area.

Schools around the area are concerned about later arrival times for all children, but particularly, those with special needs and staff – who will be difficult to retain. Schools affected include key primaries, such as Fossdene, Invicta and James Wolfe.

• access to services: The scheme disrupts access to essential services like hospitals, GP surgeries, and schools, harming those who rely on timely care and support.

• inequality: The scheme benefits some areas while pushing traffic and pollution into already disadvantaged neighbourhoods, exacerbating existing inequalities.

• ambiguous signage and safety: Poorly positioned and ambiguous signage is confusing residents and visitors travelling from outside the borough, creating dangerous turning points in both East and West Greenwich. This has led to increased congestion, including directly outside James Wolfe Primary School, which also houses a Deaf Unit, further endangering the health and safety of vulnerable children.

• access to homes: Much of the area in East and West Greenwich are now far less accessible to traffic during the scheme’s operational hours.

Why we’re taking legal action

We believe this scheme is not only harmful but also unlawful. The council has:

• ignored the overwhelming opposition of local people during consultations.

• failed to assess and mitigate the impact on vulnerable groups, breaching equalities legislation.

• failed to meet its legal obligations to provide clear dates and reasoning for the traffic orders it has implemented. Entire streets are being closed without warning, leaving residents and businesses to bear the brunt of the chaos.

• refused to engage democratically, ignoring thousands of legitimate enquiries and complaints made by residents.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich continues to ignore its residents and push ahead with schemes that harm the very people it claims to serve. We have no choice but to pursue legal action to hold the council accountable.

How you can help

Legal challenges are expensive, and the council has access to significant resources to defend its actions. To level the playing field, we need your support.

What your donations will fund:

• legal advice and representation by expert solicitors and barristers.

• court fees and procedural costs.

• expert evidence to highlight the scheme’s harmful impacts.

Our goal: We aim to raise an initial sum of £25,000 to cover these costs. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to protecting our community.

Join us in the fight

The West & East Greenwich LTN affects us all, and we cannot allow it to continue unchecked. Your support will make a difference not just for our community but for others across the UK facing similar challenges.

If we raise more than needed, any surplus funds will be used to support similar legal challenges or reinvested into local community initiatives.

Together, we can push back against unfair policies and demand a fair, healthy future for Greenwich.

Please donate and share this campaign with your friends and networks.

Help fight for equity, safety and clean air for all, and stop the Royal Borough of Greenwich from the unfair and unlawful enforcement of a scheme the community opposes.