Public inquiry into protected cycle lane in Camden opens on Tuesday

A public inquiry into a protected cycle route in central London will open on Tuesday, with Camden Cycling Campaign saying that the outcome may have “wide significance for the future of cycling provision throughout London and more widely.”

Expected to last between three and four weeks, the inquiry will be held at the council chamber at Camden Town Hall on Judd Street, with sessions open to the public taking place on Tuesday to Friday each week from 10am to 5pm.

It concerns the protected cycle lanes running through Bloomsbury from Tavistock Place and through Gordon Square onto Torrington Place, which were installed on a trial basis in November 2015.

> Popular London bike route to double in capacity for year-long trial

The London Borough of Camden held a consultation last year on proposals to make the scheme permanent and said it resulted in the highest ever response it had received to such an exercise.

> Overwhelming backing for Tavistock Place cycling scheme after record response to consultation

Some 78 per cent of the 15,000 respondents supported proposals to make the road permanently one-way for motor vehicles and double the space given to cyclists, while 21 per cent opposed the scheme.

Among almost 1,400 local residents, 61 per cent were in favour of the plans, with 38 per cent opposed.

The public inquiry will be conducted by independent inspector Martin Elliott and the London Borough of Camden has dedicated a section of its website to the proceedings, where full documentation, including statements of case from people and organisations due to testify can be found.

The principal supporter of the scheme is the London Borough of Camden itself, with others including Transport for London, the University of London, UCL, Gordon Mansions Residents Association and Camden Cycling Campaign.

Objectors include a variety of local residents’ associations and the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association.

The inquiry opens at Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, London WC1H 9LP at 10am on Tuesday 10 October 2017.