The Scrutiny Panel is scheduled to consider a community call-in regarding a decision made by the Kingston and North Kingston Neighbourhood Committee concerning traffic management orders in North Kingston. The panel will also review the procedure for the meeting.

Call In of Decision by Kingston and North Kingston Neighbourhood Committee

The main item scheduled for discussion is a community call-in concerning the Kingston & North Kingston Neighbourhood Committee's decision on 29 January 2026. This decision related to making permanent, with modifications, the Experimental Traffic Management Order (ETMO) for King's Road, New Road, and Crescent Road as part of the North Kingston Area Study.

The report pack indicates that the call-in was submitted with 782 valid signatures and raises two main grounds for review:

• Inconsistency with established policy: The call-in argues that the committee's decision to amend the officer's recommendation for a permanent exit only restriction on Crescent Road to a limited morning-only restriction (7:30 am to 9:30 am, Monday to Friday) diminishes the scheme's effectiveness by approximately 50%. This is seen as inconsistent with the Council's stated Healthy Streets and active travel vision. The requested remedy is to reconsider the decision with an option for the full reopening of Crescent Road.
• Failure to consider a material consideration: This ground for the call-in highlights several points:
  • The omission of a petition with 505 signatures from the KIRG (Kingston Independent Residents Group) opposing the Crescent Road restriction.
  • Concerns that equality and discrimination impacts were not properly assessed, despite the report noting themes of Perceived inequality & social division and a them and us divide. The call-in argues that a fuller equalities assessment should have been undertaken.
  • Reliance on modelling limitations that were not properly weighed, particularly concerning the roundabout model which reportedly underestimates congestion.

The report pack details the council's response to these grounds. Regarding the policy inconsistency, it is stated that the modified restriction still addresses through traffic and reduces overall vehicle volume, aligning with Healthy Streets principles, and that committees must consider community views. On the failure to consider material considerations, the council notes the KIRG petition was not formally submitted according to the council's Petition Scheme, and that while equality concerns were noted, housing type or wealth are not Protected Characteristics under the Equality Act 2010¹. An Equalities Relevance Test found no significant adverse impact, though a full Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA)² is being undertaken to provide reassurance. Regarding modelling limitations, the report acknowledges the roundabout model's inaccuracies but states that real traffic survey data was also provided, and that the committee's decision to monitor the situation for a year acts as a safety valve .

The Scrutiny Panel has the options to reject the call-in, allowing the original decision to proceed, or to agree with the reasons for the call-in and refer it back to the relevant committee for review and potential revision.

Scrutiny Panel Procedure

The panel is also scheduled to agree on the procedure for the meeting, as outlined in Appendix B of the public reports pack³. This procedure details the order of speaking, which typically includes representatives of the call-in request, questions from the committee, input from members responsible for the decision, relevant officers, and final comments. The Chair has indicated a willingness to allow residents of the Kingston and North Kingston Neighbourhood to speak for up to three minutes each, provided they register in advance.