Waltham Forest Mini Holland protest.

[Dan B]

Well, the Judicial Review has been kicked into touch

Opponents of a "mini-Holland" cycling scheme in north-east London have been told by a High Court judge there is "no merit whatsoever" in their criticisms.

The £27 million project aims to improve safety and the environment in the borough of Waltham Forest, including Walthamstow village, by encouraging more walking and cycling and reducing the volume of traffic in residential areas.

It is one of three mini-Holland schemes set to be built in the capital using funding from the Mayor of London.

But critics of the project, led by a group called E17Streets4All, applied to the court for a statutory review after the council conducted what they described as a "sham" consultation exercise. Hundreds gathered outside Waltham Forest town hall last month as councillors debated proposals

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/tran...merit-whatsoever-in-your-claims-a3108856.html

 

[derrick]

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/10/here-we-go-again-with-retailers-hating-bike-lanes/409372/

 

[derrick]

This should tell you a bit about it all. Some of the scheme does seem a bit flawed.
http://cycleenfield.co.uk/have-your-say/

 

[Dan B]

That's the Enfield scheme, about which I know little - not the Waltham Forest scheme, most of which I have actually ridden around. So yes, there are bits where the council have had to go back and tell contractors "go back and do it right this time" and there are bits that still could do with sorting out, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

 

[glenn forger]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...prices?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-2#comment-62898704

 

[Dan B]

https://www.transportxtra.com/publi...erted-funds-away-from-mini-holland-says-group

A group opposed to Waltham Forest’s Mini-Holland measures says its campaign is effectively using up money intended for the programme.

The London Borough was awarded £27m ‘Mini-Holland’ funding from London Mayor Boris Johnson to improve its cycling infrastructure. Mini-Holland grants of around £30m were also awarded to Kingston and Enfield councils.

Campaign group E17streetsforall had its High Court challenge thrown out last week, with Mr Justice Holgate stating that its six key objections to Mini-Holland held “no merit whatsoever”.

He ordered E17streetsforall to pay £12,000 towards legal costs incurred by Waltham Forest and also refused to grant the group permission to lodge an appeal.

E17streetsforall said: “Despite this latest legal setback it will cost us very little, but the cost to the council for both actions and their large legal team, will be a substantial sum from their Mini-Holland budget.”

Waltham Forest had brought in two barristers to fight the legal challenge, and admitted that its costs amounted to more than £12,000, though it would not specify how much.

Lovely bunch of people, of whom I will be asking for contributions towards my council tax bill should I bump into any of them

 

[Markymark]

https://www.transportxtra.com/publi...erted-funds-away-from-mini-holland-says-group

Lovely bunch of people, of whom I will be asking for contributions towards my council tax bill should I bump into any of them

Also cost them £12k I understand.

 

[Dan B]

Also cost them £12k I understand.

They were ordered to pay £10k towards the council's costs (plus VAT is £12k), they will presumably also be paying their own lawyer even if only at work experience rate. But that's their money, which I don't much care about, not mine, which I do. I'm all for cost not being a barrier to access to justice for individuals and small groups etc etc, but I'm afraid that when they start boasting about causing the council to spend money (on actions that the judge describes as "without merit", let us not forget) I kind of lose sympathy

 

[Markymark]

I agree but that's the nature of protest.

 

[glenn forger]

They're back!

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/tran...d-scheme-run-by-cycling-taliban-a3268536.html

Now remember, they have NOTHING against the people on bikes they compare with rapists and murderers.