I have only kept this page active so that I could give you news of the progress of my judicial review. As I said in my last update, today was to have been the day for a 3 hour hearing to consider permission, expedition, and the capping of costs. In legal parlance, the hearing has been 'vacated' because yesterday my solicitor, on my behalf, signed the Council's consent order, as did the CEO of Brighton & Hove Buses. We are back to the beginning and the 1976 weight restriction. Western Road is due to re-open to 2-way traffic in mid-August, using temporary traffic lights. 

We have both reserved our positions. My grounds were that the Council failed to consider the impact of the TTRO on the amenities of the affected communities (noise, light, vibration, environmental pollution, loss of privacy, reduced road safety, impact on road surfaces and infrastructure etc), breached its duty to acquaint itself with the relevant information before enacting the TTRO (by not even getting information from utility companies or other Council departments), relied on the flawed consultation in 2021 that did not include the diversion, unlawfully used a TTRO to exempt public service vehicles from the “reinstated” weight limit, and unlawfully abdicated its responsibility to decide the streets that buses could use to the bus company. 

The issue of my litigation costs looks likely to go back and forth before the Court until September. My starting position is that the Council should pay my full litigation costs (of course the Crowd Justice pledges will be deducted from the total figure, I am afraid). The Council’s position is that they should pay none. We made a generous offer yesterday to short circuit this tedious process as it will generate more costs but the Council did not respond. Documents sent to the Court by the Council indicate they have been working on revoking the TTRO at least since 5 July and probably earlier. When we sought clarification  of their intentions and timeline, the response we received on 11 July was “the diversion route will revert to Upper North Street once it reopens following completion of the repair works”. At that time, according to one.network, Upper North Street was to re-open on 14 July. That response wasted more costs in preparation for the now ‘vacated’ hearing. 

So at least by the middle of August, we should be back to ‘normal' thanks to my legal team, and the enormous amount of work put in by all of you, constantly and repeatedly raising every issue with the Council, and then turning up to a meeting with only 2 days notice on a Friday evening! Apparently, from the documents we got yesterday, there were over 40 of us from the original diversion, who went back multiple times to the Council with multiple issues. I honestly believe that if we had not consistently and repeatedly put in all this work (and ££££s!!!), the Council and R J Dance would have slowly messed around with Western Road for the 18 - 24 months they first signaled. Your support has been fantastic. I am incredibly grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you very much. I shall now request Crowd Justice to close this page.

I have left this page active because I wanted to be able to give you news on my case. I am extremely grateful to all of you backers for being incredibly patient. It is difficult to believe that it is more than 3 months since I posted an update. You can imagine how extremely frustrating this has been. 

My bundle for permission to proceed with a judicial review was lodged on 13 April. The whole bundle is nearly 300 pages. The facts and grounds for both myself and Brighton & Hove City Council are available for interested persons who request the information from the Court in writing. The witness statements are not public information until the case proceeds. As part of the bundle we asked for several options that would speed up the process. The Council did not agree with any of those. The court order we received proposed a 3 hour hearing to consider permission, expedition, and the capping of costs (with which the Council has never disagreed) on a date agreed between ourselves and the Council. The Council did not agree with any dates we put forward for June or early July. So the hearing is now on 20 July, the date of the next train strike!

I have also requested a ‘without prejudice’ meeting with our recently elected representatives to see if it is possible to come up with a political solution that does not continue to pile on costs for myself, as complainant, and the Council, as defendant. You can imagine my delight, and those of many others, when we received this notice of a meeting today. I hope as many of you will be able to attend as possible. It will be great to be able to meet at least some of you.

The damage to our poor streets has been appalling. There have now been 6 repairs of Upper North Street and its infrastructure since the diversion began on 9 January 2023. These are as follows:

• Street surface - 3, the current repair is re-repairing the first repair and much more.
• Damaged water pipes - 2 and major works to the water supply as part of the current street repair. 
• Damaged gas pipes - 1 but more work on gas pipes as part of the current repair.

Large open trenches remain inside the hazard fencing of the current repair. On top of the shallow old water pipes are the even shallower Virgin Media conduits. 

Upper North Street has been closed twice for one water repair (36 hours) and the current street surface, water and other utility repairs (re-opening date after urgent closure on 31 March expected to be around 23 April ). During these closures the buses have supposedly been diverted via Seven Dials and Dyke Road with no apparent change in the bus timetables. In reality, several bus drivers have missed receiving direction from their bus company bosses, and then have missed the signs along the streets, and have had to make dangerous turns in the narrow side streets when they realise their path really is blocked and Upper North Street really is closed. 

Now Montpelier Road just north of the traffic lights, that the buses are now using as Upper North Street is closed,  has developed a water leak.

The workers making these repairs have repeatedly told the residents that the shallow, old, superficial water pipes cannot cope with the weight and vibration of 690 buses per day. Some suggested that Upper North Street should be closed for months to install new water pipes at the current regulated depth. But no, the Council from inside its echo chamber has said in its latest update "The utility failures are not as result of use of the street by buses and are not a reason for the weight restriction being in place."

Who is paying for all this? Apparently the Council and Southern Water are having a bit of an argument but we all know that it is us, the residents, who will end up paying for such stupidity. 

In its latest update, Brighton & Hove City Council has said Western Road may open to 2-way traffic in December 2023 meaning the 700 or so residents along the diversion route will still have another 9 months of chaos, sleep deprivation, loss of privacy, noise, light and air pollution, and safety hazards as westbound vehicles continue to mount the pavement to avoid the buses. In addition, in summer, not only will many keep their blinds and curtains closed, but opening their windows to let in fresh air will instead let in putrid air and noise. In addition, the Council as always hedges its bets "The order and length of time for each section is subject to change."

Many residents have described the severe impact of this diversion on their health, wellbeing and safety. It cannot continue. So on 13 April, my solicitor lodged the bundle to the Court requesting permission to proceed with a judicial review of the lawfulness of Brighton & Hove CIty Council’s second Temporary Traffic Regulation Order. As soon as I am able to, I shall circulate the link to the documents when they are made public by the Court.

Gathering all the information and organising it into the bundle required by the Court has been a complex, time consuming, and expensive process. Having said that, it has been a privilege to be able to work with such a dedicated, knowledgeable and talented legal team. I may be financially poorer as a result of this process, but I am much richer as a result of the knowledge I have gained and the amazing people in our community who have shared the horrendous impact of this bus diversion on their health, wellbeing and safety. I am also incredibly grateful to those neighbours who thought they had retired, but have applied their immense knowledge and experience to strengthen the content of the bundle that is now before the Court. Finally of course, your 63 pledges and the money raised, have made me feel that we must fight the destructive impact of this bus diversion on our community. We have never had a voice. The majority of us have spent hours and hours documenting the negative impact on our lives for council officers and councillors. All we have received in return are stock phrases from their echo chamber, insulated from rebuttal. We cannot let this happen again.

Thank you all so much for helping me get this far. After exploring all options, I am proceeding to lodge a claim for judicial review of the decision of Brighton & Hove City Council to make a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) to exempt 690 buses daily,, and other extra heavy public service vehicles, from the weight restriction of 7.5 T on Montpelier Terrace and Upper North Street. I am aiming to lodge the claim this week, and am also requesting an expedited hearing. Your support for me to get this far has been invaluable. 

The process has been dragged out because the Council first revoked their initial TTRO, as a direct result of the first letter-before-action sent by my legal team, and the follow-up on time frame. The Council made several, minor legal corrections (as identified in the first letter-before-action) by revoking TTRO 1 and issuing TTRO 2 that came into force on 14 March 2023, for another 18 months, making 20 months in all. It is this TTRO 2 that is the subject of my claim, after a totally unsatisfactory response to the second letter-before-action on TTRO 2.

In the TTRO 2, my legal team has advised me that the Council has repeated the central legal error that is to use the TTRO process, initially to remove the weight restriction (TTRO 1) and then to re-apply the weight restriction but to exempt buses and other public service vehicles (TTRO 2).

The effect of TTRO 2 has been to continue the horrendous adverse safety, health and wellbeing impacts on some 700 residents that live directly on the diversion route. Residents are still exposed to westbound vehicles mounting the narrow pavement on the south side of Upper North Street, on to which the front doors of many of the 200 year old houses open. Air pollution remains unmeasured for dangerous particulate matter, and unreported for NO2. Excessive noise, vibration, light pollution and loss of privacy continue.To this is added the uncertainty of urgent repairs to Upper North Street that result in early morning requests from utility workers to move cars, but to where? The Council has removed several parking places along Upper North Street, and side streets, ’temporarily’ for 20 months. In the next update, I shall tell you more about the horrendous damage to Upper North Street.

Once again, thank you for your support and pledges. Both have been invaluable in helping us make all attempts to save our streets. Keep an eye on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/WRRAG to see how we are getting on. 

If you can get back to sharing this page, that would be fantastic because this case is starting to get really expensive! What else could we do?

Thanks backers. You've been fantastic. I've been quiet, again, but I am a bit like swans that look serene above water but are paddling furiously under water. We got two things wrong in the last update. First of all, we started this page on 3 February 2023. Secondly, it has been automatically extended by Crowd Justice, so I hate to say this, but you can keep on backing me!

Why would you do this? We were right that the first Temporary Traffic Order (TTO) was unlawful. You probably saw Brighton & Hove City Council's public notice on the 6 March 2023 that they planned to revoke the first TTO and issue a second one tomorrow. So from tomorrow, the 7.5 T weight limit on Montpelier Terrace and Upper North Street should be reinstated. The new TTO identifies a whole lot of other restrictions so it is worth having a close look at it on www.publicnoticeportal.uk . But surprise, surprise, our legal team has advised that the new TTO is also unlawful so another letter before action is on its way seeking a response shortly.

This cannot continue, so pressure on the Council needs to be mounted on a number of fronts. The banners are up along the redirection route. The Facebook page www.facebook.com/WRRAG and the Instagram page www.instagram.com/western_rd_redirection are getting plenty of comments and shares. A day of action by WRRAG (Western Road Redirection Action Group) is planned. We are engaging with the Council’s committees.

In the meantime, dear backers, I am gobbling through money, so any further contribution you can make will be gratefully received. In addition, can you get back to sharing, sharing this page?

It seems a very long time ago, on 11 February, when we launched this page because Brighton & Hove City Council had used a Temporary Traffic Order (TTO) to remove a longstanding 7.5 T weight restriction on our narrow residential streets, Upper North Street and Montpelier Terrace. This is allowing 690 buses per day to be diverted along these streets, and Montpelier Road and Regent Hill for 2 years.  

These buses are brutalising our community with dangerous driving, congestion, noise and vibration, and air pollution. Our counts indicate that about 600 residents live on these streets and are directly exposed to these risks. Many more live close by in the side streets.

Those living on the south side of Upper North Street, where front doors open directly on to the narrow pavement, say that there is nowhere for pedestrians to go and vans are so close to their front doors, that they cannot even open them. Every day, westbound vehicles drive along the pavement to avoid the buses. Every day, buses and taxis speed along the streets. The Upper North Street road surface has had to be repaired twice, once overnight. Cars have been damaged. We worry about the impact on our bungaroosh homes. 

Congestion in Regent Hill is horrendous, particularly when those huge M&S lorries are backing in to the M&S site for deliveries and buses are queued up down the street. 

The noise and vibration is making sleep difficult and ruining our ability to relax, chat with neighbours, and enjoy our homes. What used to be a legacy bus stop in Montpelier Road, now has over 690 buses stopping there each 24 hours, letting chatting passengers on and off, sitting on garden walls while they wait for their bus, stubbing out cigarettes on the pavement or throwing them, and other litter, into gardens. 

The amount of particulate matter spewed out by the buses and landing on our cars and homes is horrendous, particularly in Regent Hill when it gets congested, and Montpelier Road where the buses idle at the bus stop if they are a bit early. The biggest worry is that we are breathing that stuff into our lungs. Public health authorities from the World Health Organization, to the independent Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, to the Government's Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, are united in warning of the health impacts on our lungs, our hearts and our brains of both short-term and long-term exposures to air pollutants. There is no threshold level of exposure for these toxins. The young, the old and the sick are particularly susceptible and are in the greatest danger. Why is Brighton & Hove City Council relying on a standard developed in 2005? Why is the Council deaf to the immense amount of research in the last 18 years that shows how wrong they are? 

My legal team advised that the TTO is unlawful and should be quashed because it uses the TTO process to remove the weight restriction in breach of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. When we launched this crowd funding site, my solicitor had sent a formal letter before action to the Council. Thanks to all of you who have pledged to support me. 

I had a reply from the Council to my letter before action last week, that my solicitor described as "a victory of sorts". They are clearly considering their position and we have given them until tomorrow to withdraw the TTO, restore the 7.5 T weight limit to Montpelier Terrace and Upper North Street, and thus stop the rerouting. If they don't concede or make satisfactory alternative proposals, I am fully prepared to issue proceedings for judicial review, and this can be done quite speedily. 

Let's hope that when the Council is considering their position, they take into account the brutality of their decision on rerouting the buses on the 600 or so of us who live with these dangers to our health and safety, and possibly to our homes, every 24 hours. Otherwise, I have no option other than continuing to pursue the legal route with determination and vigour. 

Thank you for all our 54 pledges but let's keep going. The way to do that is to talk, talk, talk about our experiences of this redirection, and share, share, share this link with everyone you can think of ... https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-690-buses-daily-on-4-residential-streets/

I hope you have all signed our petition as well. This is all part of keeping pressure on the Council ... https://www.change.org/StopBusesUpperNorthSt 

Brighton & Hove City Council consistently refer to their "Network Management Duty to keep traffic, including buses, on our road network moving." The Council cannot have read the Traffic Management Act 2004 that places this duty on the local authority with the following constraint in bold ..."It is the duty of a local traffic authority ...  to manage their road network with a view to achieving, so far as may be reasonably practicable having regard to their other obligations, policies and objectives ..." The network management duty is subservient to the the Council's other policies and objectives, like their public health responsibility and conservation responsibilities. In the National Health Service Act 2006 - "Each local authority must take such steps as it considers appropriate for improving the health of the people in its area" and the Montpelier and Cliftonhill Conservation Area Character Statement "which will guide future development and enhancements in the area." How do 690 buses per day for two years improve the health of the people in this area and guide conservation 'enhancements'? (https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/planning/heritage/documents-montpelier-and-clifton-hill-conservation-area).  

If you go to the WRRAG (Western Road Redirection Action Group)'s Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/WRRAG we share almost daily examples of the health and safety problems we are experiencing and the threat to our homes from heavy transport. If you have skeptical friends, suggest they check in on our Facebook page.

Having said all of that, you have all made a contribution, for which I am incredibly grateful.

I am humbled and incredibly grateful to all 48 of you who have pledged for this case and got us over the all-or-nothing target set by Crowd Justice. Our legal team have recommended that we set the next target at £7,500, inclusive of the all-or-nothing amount of £4,000 that your pledges have already secured. This higher target sends a clear message to the Council that I am absolutely serious about commencing legal proceedings through a judicial review if the Council does not agree with my request to revoke the TTO and if they fail to do so. That amount of money should take us well down the path of preparing claim documents and drafting the detailed grounds of claim. 

Can you do something else for me? Can  you share my Crowd Justice page on your personal social media pages, and share with any of the relevant social media groups to which you belong? As I have said previously, the numbers of people who support this action are as important as the collective amount that is donated. 

Perhaps in your post, you would like to say something like "How many of you have suffered from similar brutal and undemocratic actions by your council as this Brighton community? Let's help Gillian Durham use the law to get their TTO revoked and to create some case law to help the rest of us."

Thank you so much for your support. 

Thank you to all you wonderful supporters who have already pledged in the first 24 hours, all 20 of you. My legal team tells me that the numbers who pledge are as important as the amount that is pledged. Crowd Justice tells us not to issue a media release until we have 20 supporters and we are there! 

Can you help us to go further and faster? Can you email 5 of your friends asking them to pledge to this case? Here's a draft that you could amend and use if that would help!

Dear/Hi NAME

My friend/neighbour/family member, Gillian Durham or Gill, has launched a CrowdJustice page to raise funds and organise support for her case to quash the Temporary Traffic Order (TTO) that is decimating her Brighton community. She has the backing of WRRAG, Western Road Redirection Action Group. Here is the link to her page https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-690-buses-daily-on-4-residential-streets/

Brighton & Hove City Council has diverted over 690 buses per day for the duration of their Western Road improvement project, using a TTO, published on 28 December 2022 for 2 years, with no public consultation. The TTO removes a longstanding 7.5 T weight restriction on 2 of the residential streets, and another 2 streets are seriously affected. All 4, previously quiet, residential streets are within a conservation area. The Council has taken no notice of the lawful requirement to restrict heavy vehicles and has done exactly the opposite resulting in air, noise, light and environmental pollution and dangerous traffic hazards to pedestrians and cyclists, including the numbers of school children who use these roads daily.

Her legal team has advised that the TTO is unlawful and should be quashed because it uses the TTO process to remove the weight restriction in breach of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and has not provided justification for the duration of 24 months. They have also identified consultation flaws in the process. She has written to the Council with a formal letter before action raising these legal concerns and asked them to revoke the TTO and, if they fail to do so, giving the Council notice that she will commence legal proceedings to quash the TTO. 

Can you help Gillian (Gill) to raise £7,500 to fund the first stage of her legal costs to obtain legal advice and write to the Council with the letter before action? Please contribute whatever you can afford and share this page now https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-690-buses-daily-on-4-residential-streets/

The numbers of people who support this action are as important as the amount they donate. Your donation will help her, and WRRAG, get justice for their community. 

Thanks so much,

NAME