How your support helps
After four months of urging Croydon Council to open our roads through petitions, emails, social media calls and public protesting, and still being met with a lack of any real conversation, our campaign now moves on to its legal phase. It's our best chance for success.
If 2,000 people give £10 each, we'll have reached our target. If 1,000 people give £20 each, we will have reached our target. If everyone who joined us at the protest gives £30 each, we will have reached our target.
To date, our legal groundwork has come for free through volunteer lawyers, who will continue to contribute to standard legal work. We've paid no costs except the court application fee.
Now, we need specialist representation, expertise, and funds for any activities and costs associated with the legal proceedings.
Your continued support through donating to the OOR Legal Justice Fund will go a long way in our community-fight to open our roads. If Croydon Council decides to do the right thing in the meantime and remove all road closures and restrictions, we will refund your donation less the proportionate costs incurred on legal proceedings at that stage.
Once you pledge, please tick the box for email updates so we can keep you in the loop.
Why we're taking Croydon to court
We believe Croydon Council acted unlawfully in deciding to close roads as part of its LTN. As a community, we have told them at every step that their actions are illegal, unjust and unfair.
Our pressure has resulted in a public consultation - three months after Croydon closed our roads. But, unless they remove all road closures and restrictions, it's too little too late. Any other course of action by the Council will continue to negatively impact the community's health and well-being through increased congestion and pollution on main roads, the health of our local economy and the livelihoods of people who rely on the roads for work.
Every day that goes by is a failed opportunity for Croydon Council to do the right thing and open our roads. We have no other choice but to challenge the legality of their actions in court.
How did Croydon Council act unlawfully? In making decisions to close roads, the council:
- Acted unfairly by failing to take into account the disproportionate effect their actions would have on surrounding roads, local traders, and people wishing to access local services
- Made irrational decisions that were not based on any evidence, and they did not consider any other possible alternative actions to meet their stated aims to make travel safe during the Covid-19 pandemic and which encourages active travel
- Acted with bias for able-bodied people and prejudice against the disabled and elderly among us
- Acted illegally by not consulting the neighbouring London Borough of Bromley on road network decisions that would impact Bromley roads, and in fact advertised Bromley roads as diversion routes due to Croydon's road closures. Bromley is named as an interested party in our legal case, which means they can also submit evidence.
What happens next
Croydon Council has asked the court to pause legal proceedings until 6 January 2021 in order to complete its consultation. We agreed to this pause with one condition - that Croydon Council makes no changes to the road closures.
There are 10 legal challenges to LTNs across London, and the court has decided that these will be heard separately by the same judge within the same time frame.
The judge will give directions to all parties involved on how to proceed on 12 February. This effectively means no legal action can progress until this date.
That gives us time to raise the necessary funds, however, it does not take away the urgency for our cause and the need for your support!
We say thank you to every one of you for standing with us this far. Your generous donations will make this possible and we ask that you share our appeal for the Open Our Roads Legal Justice Fund with your family, friends and neighbours. Every penny helps!