DPHN Traffic Proposals Update: Petition Hearing

In August, with the help of other local organisations, we gathered nearly 3,000 signatures on a petition that we presented to Camden Council. This called on the Council to extend the brief six-week “co-design” phase of the Dartmouth Park Healthy Neighbourhood (DPHN) traffic proposals, urging more meaningful and accessible engagement.

At our public meeting on 3 September, held at La Sainte Union school, Cllr Camron Aref-Adib, reflecting on the meeting, acknowledged that “this has been a lesson in terms of how we do our engagement on such schemes.” Cllr Anna Wright agreed, noting that Camden “has not managed to… communicate well enough or to handle the engagement well enough, and that really needs looking at.”

Here’s the latest update: on 11 November, Charlotte Alderson and Andrew Sulston presented our case to Camden Council’s Culture and Environment Scrutiny Committee which met to consider the petition. We highlighted residents’ significant concerns about both the substance and process of the Council’s traffic proposal, developed jointly with Islington Council. The co-design phase took place during the main summer holiday period, limiting residents’ ability to participate fully. Errors in the proposal and a perceived lack of transparency and appropriate data also led to frustration. The Council’s objectives for the proposal were unclear, and it was not explained why a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) was chosen over other traffic management options. This intensified worries that the proposed LTN could worsen congestion and pollution in surrounding roads.

In our presentation, we urged the Council to rerun the co-design phase which we feel is justified. As a fallback request, if this is not felt to be feasible, we requested that the formal consultation period for the proposals (which could happen soon) be extended from the minimum four weeks to 12 weeks. The Committee resolved that Council officers should “commit to extend phase 3 consultation as much as realistically possible so that everyone who wished to contribute could contribute at a proper stage of the process.”

We welcome this recognition of the need for effective engagement. Highgate Society is committed to responsible environmental measures, and remains open to collaborating with Camden Council to achieve balanced, evidence-based traffic solutions. We are encouraged by the Committee’s response but aware that we still have a lot to do.

We will also be meeting soon with other local organisations with have collaborated with, and we will keep you updated on developments through the DPHN Joint Action website (DPHNJointAction.com).