SEVEN controversial Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) schemes will be ripped up in Ealing following a vote by the council's cabinet on Wednesday.

The West London council held a consultation over its nine low-traffic zones during the summer and found that between 58 and 82 per cent of the 20,000 respondents opposed them.

Analysis from Ealing Council, which took into account the public consultation, found that seven LTNs saw "no material change in air quality" while there was evidence of "increased congestion" on nearby streets.

Following the cabinet's vote on Wednesday, the Acton Central, Junction Road, Loveday Road, Mattock Lane, Olive Road, West Ealing North and Bowes Road LTNs will all be removed, though dates have not yet been confirmed.

The schemes were introduced across London last year during lockdown in a bid to reduce through traffic on certain roads, but were met with fury from nearby residents who claimed the zones were increasing traffic elsewhere.

More than 2,000 people descended on Ealing town hall in April in opposition to the LTN schemes, which led to the council announcing that residents would have "the final say" on future schemes.

The borough has found itself embroiled in a row over LTNs since they were introduced, and it is thought to be one of the key factors that led to long-time council leader Julian Bell being ousted earlier this year.

An advocate of low-traffic schemes, Mr Bell was voted out as council leader in May after 11 years in the role having survived a vote of no confidence six months earlier.

The former council leader was forced to apologise last year after it was revealed that the London Ambulance Service had not been consulted on the LTN plans, with fears that blocking roads could delay response times.

Though it is up to individual councils to implement or remove them, LTNs form part of Sadiq Khan and TfL's wider London Streetspace programme, which also includes "pop-up" cycle lanes and school streets and was launched during the pandemic to make social distancing easier while promoting active travel.

But while TfL and the mayor have embraced them, it is central Government who are behind the push for more low-traffic schemes.

The rollout and expansion of LTNs and other active travel schemes have been a condition of subsequent emergency funding deals for Transport for London.

In May 2020, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wrote to Sadiq Khan calling on the Mayor of London to introduce an "ambitious" plan for active travel including "closures of roads to through traffic", while the latest funding deal saw TfL required to set aside £100 million for the continued delivery of the schemes.

Following Ealing Council's vote this week, only two low-traffic zones will remain in the borough on Adrienne Avenue and Deans Road.

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