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Road humps blow for Islington Council
Posted on Thursday, May 08 @ 15:50:56 UTC by pulpsimon |
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A COUNCIL U-turn over illegal speed bumps could see hundreds of
drivers who have been given the hump claim compensation for damage to
their cars.
The Gazette can exclusively reveal that many of
the estimated 1,600 speed bumps across the borough could be illegal -
after Islington Council paid out £95 to motorist Michael Copsey because
his car was damaged by speed restrictions in Roman Way, Holloway.
Residents who think they have an illegal speed bump on their street
can write to Ms Thornberry at the House of Commons or email
emilythornberrymp@parliament.uk.
Full Story - Islington Gazette
Last month town hall bosses insisted they were not liable for the
claim because the speed bump - which was higher than the 100mm UK
maximum - was not subject to the Government's 1999 Highways
Regulations. But they were wrong.
But Emily Thornberry, MP for
Finsbury and Islington South, who supported Mr Copsey's claim, has
received a letter from the council admitting: "There has been some
information which has come to light. After 1999 the maximum height of
any speed restriction was regulated to 100mm unless permission was
sought from the Department of Transport to have it oversize.
"In
this specific case, permission was not sought and the height of the
speed restriction in places was over the allotted height."
Now Ms Thornberry is urging residents to write to her if they have a "bonkers bump" on their street.
She
said: "Mr Copsey's Mini Cooper was totally wrecked by the speed bumps
which were too high. There seems to be a lot of confusion from
Islington Council as to what the law actually is, which makes me wonder
how many other illegal speed bumps there are and how many other people
they are going to have to pay compensation to."
Mr Copsey, 66,
a retired tree surgeon, of Liverpool Road, Islington, said: "I'm
grateful to the council for looking at the matter further and finding
that there were discrepancies. It's a big issue and other people who
have had their car damaged should be entitled to compensation.
"There
is a principle and it's an injustice. They earn absolutely millions
from motorists so it is only right they should be brought to task."
Councillor
Lucy Watt, Islington Council's executive member for environment, said:
"I'm very sorry for the confusion regarding this speed hump. The
information was given in good faith and based on earlier advice that
meant we didn't remove over-height humps where there was no evidence of
a problem.
"The reality is that this hump has been in place
for a number of years and we're not aware of any other problems. I'm
pleased to hear that we've settled Mr Copsey's claim.
She
added: "We've already got a programme of putting in new, lower speed
humps in the borough, and we're reviewing the ones which are slightly
bigger - like those in Roman Way - to make them more comfortable for
drivers.
"If anyone wants to let us know about any speed humps which they think are too high, we'd be more than happy to examine them."
The
new Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, and actor Sean Pertwee are among
the Islington residents who have slammed the number of speed bumps in
the borough.
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