London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 28, 2025

Londoners furious as it's revealed ambulances can't get through new road blocks

Londoners furious as it's revealed ambulances can't get through new road blocks

It's been revealed the ambulance service didn't support the controversial Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

It's often the case that blanket schemes introduced across large areas with the best intentions - in this case to cut pollution and traffic congestion - spark huge anger and recriminations at local level.

So it has proved with the so-called Lowe Traffic Neighbourhoods being set up across the capital.

The schemes involve cutting off minor roads with planters or road blocks to try to cut congestion and prevent rat-running and encourage walking and cycling.


LTNs are being introduced across London


But they have sparked fury almost everywhere they have been introduced and have led to protests, local campaign groups and even no-confidence votes in council leaders.

In many areas it's been revealed that when first consulted about the schemes, the ambulance service said it could not support the barriers for fear its ambulances could not get through them and there have been widespread reports fire engines have had to turn back when faced with the barriers.

In boroughs including Ealing, Croydon, Wandsworth, Harrow, Hammersmith and Westminster the schemes have sparked fury from many.

In some areas they have also massively divided opinion with small groups of environmentally-conscious residents in favour of them.


Low Traffic Neighbourhood planters and barriers have been installed across Ealing


Hounslow

The latest area to see fury erupt is in Chiswick in the West London borough of Hounslow

A group of Chiswick residents fighting traffic changes in their streets are “furious” as it has been revealed the London Ambulance Service shared concerns over Hounslow Council’s road block plans back in August.

Freedom of Information requests relating to the diagonal road closure at the junction of Park Road and Staveley Road, show that the London Ambulance Service did not support physical barriers, which are now in place at the junction, due to the potential impact on emergency response times.

In correspondence seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service in which Hounslow Council informed different stakeholders of the changes, an email from London Ambulance Service on August 28 responds: “We are unable to support schemes that involve hard closures like gates, bollards etc as our vehicles do not carry any form of GERDA or fire brigade keys.

“The reason for this are resources are not borough based and the nearest ambulance is dispatched to any call, meaning a crew for anywhere in London could be dispatched to a call in Hounslow Borough.

“We would always look for schemes to provide unhindered access to roads and where possible be enforced using camera or drive across type bollards.

“Any delay in response can be detrimental to patient care and safety.”


The road block after the work was carried out at Park Road junction.


The road changes come amid plans to create a South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood, and a range of trial traffic-calming measures in response to the pandemic as part of the council’s Streetspace scheme.

They are designed to boost active travel such as walking and cycling in the area, as part of an initiative being trialled across many London boroughs with government funding.

Enforcement of the closures are a mixture of physical barriers and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras monitoring the roads with accompanying signage.

The schemes have sparked angry backlash from residents over “chaos at best” changes as a result of the measures, with opposition petitions receiving thousands of signatures.

The Park Road and Staveley Road barrier came into force from October.

A residents' group opposing the changes - the Park Road Neighbours - have been campaigning to get the barrier removed from their street.

They said: “The Park Road Neighbours Residents are furious that the London Ambulance Service objection to the diagonal barrier on 28 August was ignored.

“It is completely unacceptable for information from the emergency services to either be withheld or for the objection from the LAS to be dismissed without proper consideration.”

Transport cabinet member cllr Hanif Khan said the trials, which are temporary under Experimental Traffic Orders, remain open to consultation from the emergency services and that no further comments from them have been received by the council since the trial went live.

Cllr Khan added: “We are mindful of the responses issued by the emergency services following consultation, in particular their concern regarding “hard” closures and the impact these may have on response times.

“In response, we have sought to employ a mix of “hard” closures and camera-enforced closures in any given area to reduce that impact as far as practicable.

“We always try and give emergency services colleagues as long as possible to review the possible impact of schemes and in respect to this scheme they were notified several weeks before implementation…

“To give further reassurances, we will be undertaking independent interim and final reviews of all schemes. This was agreed at Cabinet last week.”

The reviews will decide whether the schemes will be made permanent, changed or scrapped, based on data such as traffic movements, air quality, business impact and views of residents.

Meanwhile, the residents' group have also expressed concerns about conflict of interest from key cabinet members involved in decision making on the schemes, due to associations with the London Cycling Campaign.

Communities cabinet member Katherine Dunne and highways lead Guy Lambert both declare they are members of the campaign group on the council’s register of interest.

Cllr Khan confirmed that the conflict of interest complaints were being investigated “via the procedures set out in Hounslow Council’s constitution”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×