Crown Court Rules A20 Speed Limit Unlawful - Sevenoaks & Swanley MP Among Campaigners

A Crown Court has ruled that the Traffic Order and Notice Transport for London used to impose a temporary 40mph speed limit on the A20 were unlawful - a ruling that could affect hundreds of drivers fined on a stretch of road many Sevenoaks district commuters use every day to reach London.

TfL cut the speed limit on the A20 eastbound, between Crittall's Corner in Sidcup and the Swanley Interchange, from 70mph and 50mph down to 40mph in October 2023, while roadworks addressing surface water flooding were carried out. The stretch itself sits just over the Kent border, in the London Borough of Bexley - not in Sevenoaks district - but it's the direct route many Swanley and wider Sevenoaks-district residents use to get into London, which is why the dispute has been followed closely here as well as in south-east London. Drivers quickly complained that signage was confusing, inconsistent or contradicted by sat-nav systems; TfL later admitted an incorrect sign had been put up by "a third party". The 40mph limit stayed in place until October 2024, by which point hundreds of drivers had been fined, some more than once.

Three MPs - Gareth Bacon (Orpington), Laura Trott (Sevenoaks & Swanley) and Louie French (Old Bexley & Sidcup) - have been campaigning together for two years for affected drivers to have their fines and penalty points reversed. Writing on his own website, Gareth Bacon said the Crown Court's finding that the Traffic Order and Notice were unlawful was "a major development after two years of campaigning", adding: "We have now written again to the Mayor of London and demanded that TfL explains how affected motorists can have their convictions overturned, penalty points removed and fines repaid, as well as what compensation will be offered to those who have suffered as a result... The Mayor must finally now do the right thing." TfL had previously maintained that it followed the correct procedures when it introduced the restriction.

It's still unclear how TfL and the Mayor's office intend to handle fines and convictions already issued, or whether affected drivers will need to challenge their own penalties individually rather than have them reversed automatically. The MPs are pressing for a clear process to be set out, covering refunds, the removal of penalty points, and compensation for drivers who lost work or faced higher insurance costs as a result.

Source: Gareth Bacon MP, Maritime Radio