A furious backlash from residents has forced Southwark Council to scrap plans to close a street in East Dulwich to traffic.
The climbdown comes after the News was made aware of a series of emails obtained through an FOI request suggesting officers could have been instructed to bypass the council’s internal governance processes to push through the Low Traffic Neighbourhood on Ryedale.
The scheme would have seen the road closed with bollards and planters installed at the junction with Underhill Road for an eighteen month trial period.
It also included plans to make Balchier Road and Cornflower Terrace, which link Ryedale and Dunstans Road, one-way-only, with the option to take a left-hand-turn onto Dunstans removed.
A council report approving the scheme dated December 2025 said the measures were intended to address concerns around speeding on Ryedale.
A resident of one of the affected roads told us that many drivers use the street as a cut-through to avoid the parallel street, Dunstans Road, where there is a traffic light at the junction with Forest Hill Road.
But they continued: “Many residents appreciate there is an issue in terms of speeding but there needs to be a fair and balanced approach.”
A raft of internal emails, which have been seen by the News, show how warnings that the measures were “likely to be contentious” were pushed aside, with officers instructed to fast-track the scheme for implementation in January. However, the implementation never took place.
In one email, dated September 9, a council officer warned the scheme would “likely have a knock-on effect on Dunstans and St Aidan’s Road,” and recommended that the council “carry out an informal consultation before issuing this as an Experimental Order as it is likely to be a contentious scheme with not much evidence to justify it.”
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After the News got in touch, James McAsh, the Cabinet Member for Clean Air, Streets and Waste, said the council had dropped the measures. He said: “We recently shared proposals to close Ryedale to motor vehicles in response to concerns about through-traffic and vehicle speeds. These measures were intended to be trialled under an Experimental Traffic Management Order, allowing their impact to be properly tested. While this is not our usual approach, we were keen to urgently address concerns.
“Since then, we have received considerable feedback from the local community about the possible impact of the scheme on the wider area. We have listened and decided to stop the scheme and instead, take the time to review how best to address the concerns raised. This will inform the development of broader joined-up proposals as part of our Streets for People strategy, which includes extensive community engagement at every stage.
“We are committed to a greener and safer Southwark, and will continue to do so with our residents onboard.”
