The Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA) has lost a judicial review that sought to halt construction of London mayor Boris Johnson’s flagship east-west cycle superhighway.
The Guardian reports that the High Court has rejected a claim from the LDTA that building the £47m Westbourne Grove to Tower Hill cycle route without planning permission ‘constitutes a breach of planning control’.
The cycle superhighways programme rolls on after High Court decision
The LTDA had complained that the new cycle lanes will take up road space, causing disruption.
Its general secretary, Steve McNamara, has described the project as Mr Johnson's ‘last hurrah’ before leaving office in May.
Transport for London (TfL) said the plan constituted ‘works of improvement’ which did not need planning permission.
Mrs Justice Patterson ruled that TfL had not erred in law, ‘and was not irrational in reaching its conclusion that there was no significant adverse environmental effect from the proposals as a whole’.
She said: ‘On the evidence before the court, planning permission is not required for phase one of the superhighway as a whole. That is not to say that it may not be required for certain minor works within the scheme (that information is not before the court), or that it may not be required for other cycle superhighways or for parts of them in the future. Each scheme will need to be judged on its own facts.’
Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: 'The court agreed with us that planning permission was not required for the construction of the route to date, and dismissed all aspects of the LTDA’s claim.
'Construction continues to progress well and we are working hard to manage areas of temporary congestion around the construction sites. This cycle superhighway will make London’s roads safer for all and encourage a more efficient use of the road space. '
