Councillors raise concerns over Enfield bus route impact

Tory councillors urged a rethink of changes to Farm Road, in Winchmore Hill, which are due to be rolled out to accommodate the new 456 bus linking Crews Hill to North Middlesex Hospital.

Cllr Maria Alexandrou told the overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday the level of opposition from residents had not been taken on board and alternatives to the route were “dismissed”.

But the committee gave its backing to the original decision after council officials insisted it was the best route for the bus service and steps had been taken to reduce the impact on residents.

Cllr Alexandrou (Conservative, Winchmore Hill) said: “There will be a negative impact of the proposed yellow lines and loss of parking. It will remove residents’ parking further away from their properties, which will impact on elderly residents, families with small children and those with disabilities.”

Cllr Alexandrou said the tone of parts of a council report responding to residents’ concerns was “dismissive and patronising”, with one paragraph seemingly more concerned with the reputation of the council with the mayor of London than the views of residents. She urged the authority to “look at the sensible options put forward”.

But cabinet member for environment Cllr Guney Dogan (Labour, Lower Edmonton) said Farm Road emerged as the preferred option for the bus route as it enabled Transport for London (TfL) “to fill an existing gap in provision in a cost-effective way”.

“TfL considered a number of different route options avoiding Farm Road, including those proposed by residents, but concluded none offered the same benefits,” he added.

Cllr Dogan said the double yellow lines – added to create space for buses to pass – had been revised to cover the frontage of only seven homes in Farm Road, “none of which lack off-street parking”.

A single yellow line would be added near Highfield Primary School to deter commuter parking while allowing residents to park, he said.

After concerns were raised over the positions of bus stops in Farm Road, Cllr Achilleas Georgiou (Labour, Bowes) asked if alternatives such as hail and stop had been considered.

David Taylor, head of traffic and transportation at Enfield Council, said fixed bus stops were planned because TfL is “committed to providing services that are really accessible to all members of the community”.

Cllr Georgiou also raised concerns over a narrow bridge on Farm Road close to two schools. He asked if specific assessments had been carried out to gauge the risk of the bus route to children attending the schools.

Mr Taylor replied that a separate risk assessment looking at the schools had not been undertaken, but the scheme was assessed “within the context that it sits, including knowing there are schools there”.

“There is an element of engineering judgement we have used in designing the scheme to make sure it can work effectively and safely,” he added.

Following further discussion, Cllr Hass Yusuf (Labour, Chase) said he was worried changing the route would delay the bus service.

“Isn’t it the case that whenever something is added to the road people will object?” he said. “It is disruption, having bus stops there – there is no doubt about it. But I think for the wider good of the whole of Enfield it is better.”

At the end of the debate, the two Conservative committee members voted to refer the decision back to the cabinet member for a rethink.

Cllr Georgiou abstained, while the remaining five Labour members voted to allow the original decision to stand.

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