Council unveils ‘safer’ Pembury junction – but campaigners accuse it of abandoning its ‘leadership on cycling’

A bird’s eye view of what the new junction will look like. Image: Hackney Council

Hackney Council has published virtual plans for a revamped Pembury Circus junction following a battle with local campaigners over safety fears.

In a bid to promote its positive impact on traffic reduction, green spaces, high street footfall and safety for pedestrians and cyclists, on Wednesday the council put out a visualisation of the new junction layout.

The Town Hall argues that the latest CGI images show in detail how the “complete” redesign will make the roads and surrounding areas less dangerous.

In a press statement, Cllr Sarah Young, cabinet member for climate, environment and transport, hailed the “once-in-a-generation” opportunity.

The design will bring about “a greener, more accessible, liveable and safer town centre, which meets the needs of people walking, wheeling and cycling here”, she stated.

“We’ve spoken to thousands of residents over the past five years about their priorities for Hackney Central and our plans have been formed on the basis of what they’ve told us.

“I’m continuing to have those conversations and listen to local people’s views so we can make Hackney Central one of the best town centres in the country.”

The council’s statement suggests the redesign picked up on public concerns around the junction’s safety, noting the 66 people injured in collisions “in the five years leading up to 2022”.

But cycling campaigners and other residents remain sceptical both of the safety of the new design, but also the claim that cyclists’ welfare was seriously considered by the Town Hall.

“Every defence of this decision mentions the need to balance the needs of all road users, but this is dishonest,” wrote cycling advocate Will Petty on X (formerly Twitter).

“There’s no balance here. Of the extensive space reclaimed from cars, you can see with your own eyes that pedestrians get all of it, and cyclists get next to nothing.”

“The 1,500 people a day who currently cycle Pembury will surely increase. They’ll be fine…until one day (or night) one of them isn’t. There will be hand-wringing and sad faces, but nothing more.

“This is the path Hackney are taking. Cycling, yes…but not here. Where we decree it. And if you stubbornly take the shortest route, you’re on your own.

“This, for me, says that Hackney is a borough that has given up its claim to leadership on cycling.”

Before and after the redesign. Image: Hackney Council

The council previously rejected alternative plans submitted by the local branch of London Cycling Campaign, Hackney LCC, which included protected cycle lanes.

Following a dispute between the local authority and campaigners, opposition councillors triggered a rare ‘call-in’ of the council’s decision, asking the Town Hall’s scrutiny committee take another look at the proposals and judge whether officers had properly listened to cyclists’ concerns.

Despite passionate pleas from the campaigners, joined by Green and Independent Socialist members, for an independent review of the junction’s redesign by Active Travel England, a majority of scrutiny members agreed the council should press on.

In its recent statement, the council argued that it “considered introducing ‘CYCLOPS’-style plans for Pembury Circus, which would “include cycle lanes around the perimeter of the junction”.

“However this would mean pedestrians would continue to need to use multiple crossings across roads and cycle lanes.

“In seeking to provide improvements for both cyclists and pedestrians, the council is not proceeding with this option.”

Last month, before the final decision, Hackney LCC said the Town Hall had “mis-labelled” its alternative proposals as ‘CYCLOPS’ designs.

“It would be more accurately called a ‘Circulating Cycle Stage Junction’, similar to several already in operation around London. The approach resolves the issues which led the council to reject their ‘CYCLOPS’ design,” a spokesperson for the group said.

Supporters of the council’s plans include Andrew Hodgson, from the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), who criticised the campaigners’ substitute designs as “chaotic” and “disorienting” that would allow bicycles to bypass pedestrian crossings and thereby pose a real risk for partially-sighted or blind people.

Yet for others, the affair underlined a deeper malaise around the Town Hall’s approach to public engagement.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “There were some legitimate issues the council raised about floating bus stops.”

“I’m not even saying Hackney LCC should have had it all its own way. But the lack of genuine engagement to reach for consensus was baffling.

“It made the whole thing feel like consultation was conducted in bad faith,” the resident said.

In a “critical overview” of the new visualisations on their website today, Hackney LCC maintains that the council’s design achieves a disqualifying 25 per cent Junction Assessment Tool (JAT) score.

They argue that a minimum of 70 per cent is normally required for Active Travel England to sign off on a scheme.

“When looked at carefully, these visualisations show just how bad the junction design is, and these are idealised images and the reality will be a lot more messy,” the group states.

Update: this article was amended at 8.50pm on 25 November 2024. A quote was wrongly attributed to Will Norman, and this has been corrected to Will Petty. We apologise for any confusion.