London council warned of 'mockery' if it reopens Bank Junction to black cabs on weekdays

The City of London Corporation is later today (June 20) to vote on whether to retain or remove Black Cab restrictions at Bank Junction. Currently, the junction is limited to use by cyclists and buses between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday. The scheme was introduced in May 2017 in a bid to improve safety, following incidents including the death of 26-year-old Ying Tao in 2015, who was crushed by an HGV while riding to work. Any changes will also require an application to Transport for London (TfL).

Prominent architect and cycling campaigner Peter Murray is among those to call for the Corporation to stick to its guns and not reopen the notorious junction to taxis during weekdays. In a letter sent to all of the City's members, Mr Murray wrote that amending the restrictions would ‘make a mockery’ of the City’s draft local plan, entitled City Plan 2040, “and thus of the City of London itself”.

There has however been a push by some councillors, plus groups such as the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA), to allow taxi access at all times through the junction. Alderman Timothy Hailes previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that “licensed Hackney carriages fulfil an essential public service in terms of both accessibility and women’s safety, are environmentally friendly and should be treated consistently with buses”.

READ MORE: Councillors recommend not letting black cabs back into Bank Junction on weekdays

He added no safety breaches have occurred involving Hackney carriages at Bank, with the ‘biggest hazard’ now being cyclists failing to observe 'basic road traffic compliance'.

A review of the scheme was approved in 2022 to further analyse potential equalities impacts. The findings were presented in a report to the Planning and Transportation Committee last month, with officers concluding the exercise “found no transport grounds or strong equality grounds for making a change to the restrictions to allow taxis during restricted hours”.

The committee agreed, and voted to recommend to the Court of Common Council, where the final decision would be made, that the scheme be retained.

Members have however been informed that the Chair of Planning, Deputy Shravan Joshi, is intending to propose an amendment to the recommendation at today's meeting which would in effect reverse the committee’s position, and recommend allowing Black Cabs access at all times.

The LDRS has seen an email sent by Alderwoman Martha Grekos to the Town Clerk and all Corporation members querying the legitimacy of proposing such an ‘amendment’, suggesting it is instead ‘negating’ the original motion and so contravening the City’s own standing orders.

“It is of course open to the Chair of Planning, as it is to any member, to argue against the original motion,” she wrote. “He may find it embarrassing to do so, since it emanates from a committee which he chairs and it is supported by the officers whom that committee oversees. Embarrassment, though, is not a valid reason for contravening standing orders.”

The Lord Mayor, Alderman Michael Mainelli, will have the opportunity to decide the validity of the proposed amendment at the Court of Common Council, before a debate and vote is held among members.

‘A mockery of the City Plan 2040’

In his letter to the Corporation, Mr Murray wrote that members have a ‘stark choice to make’ at today's meeting: “A choice between a City for the Future, a city of healthy streets, equitable transport and places designed for people. Or a City of the Past where motor vehicles are prioritised over active travel.”

He references various targets listed in the City Plan 2040 and the Transport Strategy, which include aspirations such as reducing the level of motor traffic in the Square Mile, that the reopening of Bank Junction during the week would appear to contradict.

Among the other points raised by Mr Murray is that of disabled access. This has similarly been flagged by those wanting the restrictions lifted, with Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the LTDA, previously saying how restoring taxi access would benefit users “including disabled passengers and making the area more accessible for everyone”.

Mr Murray however contends that the opposite would be true, encouraging members to listen to “Deputy Michael Cassidy and Deputy John Fletcher, both wheelchair users, as well as the disabled charity Wheels for Wellbeing [who] do not support any change”.

On the issue of safety, he wrote: “While taxi drivers per se have a good record of safe driving, the increase in traffic as a result of the proposed changes will have a deleterious effect on safety. Transport for London’s main concerns, should the changes be approved, are about safety.

“A vote for Option 2, to reduce the restrictions to Bank Junction, would make a mockery of the City Plan 2040 and thus of the City of London itself.”

Asked for comment on both Alderwoman Grekos’ email and Mr Murray’s letter, a City of London Corporation Spokesperson, said: “This week, elected Members of the City Corporation will decide whether or not to pursue a change to traffic restrictions at Bank Junction, to allow taxi access at all times. This will be debated at the Court of Common Council, the Corporation’s primary decision-making body, in the usual way.”

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