Ruth Stockley successfully resists High Court challenge to validity of a Traffic Regulation Order

Ruth Stockley, acting for Cumbria County Council, successfully resisted a High Court statutory challenge to the validity of a traffic regulation order (“TRO”) relating to a highway in Carlisle city centre. The TRO was challenged on 5 grounds, including that there were insufficient traffic reasons demonstrated for the making of the TRO; that the balancing exercise required by section 122 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 was not properly undertaken; and the reasons for making the TRO were irrational.

Notable elements of the decision which dismissed all 5 grounds of challenge include the following:

• The importance of reading a report to committee as a whole was reiterated, taking into account that they are written for councillors with local knowledge;
• In determining whether the section 122 balance has been properly conducted, one looks to substance and not to form, bearing in mind that it is “not a particularly difficult or complicated exercise for the traffic authority to conduct”; and
• The commercial implications of making a TRO on an affected person or body are not relevant considerations to be taken into account by the traffic authority.

A copy of the Judgment can be viewed here.