Harrow Labour councillors have expressed concerns following the Conservative-led Harrow Council’s disclosure of significant income targets associated with the School Streets Scheme, which aims to improve air quality and promote active travel.
The scheme, currently in trial, involves temporary road closures near schools during peak hours, with enforcement through CCTV cameras.
Labour councillors are alarmed by the revenue estimates, with projected income from the scheme expected to increase from £180,000 in the first year to £810,000 by the third year. They argue that this suggests the council is relying on fines from residents to meet financial targets, rather than prioritising traffic reduction and safety improvements.
Cllr David Perry, Leader of the Harrow Labour Group, said: “I have been extremely concerned to learn of the excessive income targets for implementing a scheme as positive as School Streets, and I am not satisfied following questioning at the recent Cabinet meeting that sufficient flexibility is in the appeals system when introducing such a scheme. Residents have already fallen foul, with the appeal process putting income targets first instead of residents.
“As mentioned last year, the Council are continuing to install widespread CCTV cameras to fine residents in these areas, unnecessarily penalising residents for the sake of hitting a financial target. I raised this issue at Cabinet this week, but my concerns were shrugged off by Conservative Councillors who have clearly put their excessive income targets before residents.”
In response, Cllr Paul Osborn, Leader of Harrow Council, defended the scheme and its enforcement measures, “To be clear, School Street Schemes will not be implemented unless they are clearly supported by local residents through our thorough consultation process.
“Harrow’s Conservative Council is committed to protecting local people and properly enforcing adopted rules and regulations across the borough. If residents have asked for a School Street to be installed, it is only right that we ensure that the scheme is properly enforced. If we do not enforce the rules, then there is no point in having the schemes in the first place.
“The School Street schemes are only implemented in areas where there is clear evidence of traffic problems caused by a school and where substantial support for the schemes has been demonstrated by local residents.”
Cllr Osborn also pointed out that the Labour Party had initially supported and introduced the scheme: “All the schemes proposed for the first wave, that are in Labour wards, were supported by the local Labour Councillors and are paid for by the Labour Mayor of London. And as recently as this month a former Labour council candidate came to a public meeting demanding more School Street schemes. Also, it is worth remembering that it was the last Labour administration at the Council who first introduced these schemes in Harrow during 2020.”
Addressing concerns over the projected income, Cllr Osborn said: “The income forecast is based on the schemes that Labour implemented in 2020. They chose the locations of the CCTV cameras and implemented the appeals process. We have made no changes to this.
“Furthermore, Harrow Labour’s claims about the forecasted income figures are misleading. At present, we only have three School Street schemes in Harrow. At the October Cabinet meeting, we proposed to consult with residents on a further six schemes. The projected income figure of £810,000 in three years’ time is assuming that 18 School Street Schemes have been implemented by that point.
“This would equate to an income forecast of £45,000 per scheme, per year. This figure is approximately £17,000 lower than the average yearly income for comparable School Street schemes operated by other London Councils, most of which are controlled by Labour.”
“It is another week and another petty political attack from Harrow’s Labour Councillors who seem opposed to us enforcing against highways violations in schemes local residents have asked for. We make no apology for enforcing schemes, which have been implemented with the clear support of local people, to make our streets safer for our children.”
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
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