Where the streets are paved with gold: Drivers are fined £7million at one London junction in just four months after flouting vehicle ban

  • Restrictions at Bank Junction – a six-way intersection in heart of financial district
  • All vehicles except buses and bikes banned from driving through area on weekdays between 7am and 7pm
  • Thousands caught crossing the intersection, generating millions in fines
Restrictions have been imposed at Bank Junction – a six-way intersection in the heart of the capital’s financial district – as part of a trial safety scheme

Almost £7million in fines has been handed to motorists at a single junction in London in four months.

ADVERTISEMENT

Restrictions have been imposed at Bank Junction – a six-way intersection in the heart of the capital’s financial district – as part of a trial safety scheme.

New rules mean all vehicles except for buses and bikes are banned from driving through the area – one of the most dangerous in London – on weekdays between 7am and 7pm. 

But a Freedom of Information request by the Mail has found that since the scheme began, thousands have been caught crossing the intersection, generating millions in fines.

Drivers have claimed that they were unaware of the restrictions – with one motorist even managing to receive more than ten fines.

Between May 22 and September 17 this year, 106,357 fines were issued. 

The total cost of the penalty charges – charged at £130, or £65 if paid within 14 days – has reached £6,913,205. 

Of those, the number of unpaid fines is worth £1,996,800. The money goes to the City of London Corporation, the authority enforcing the scheme.

Tory MP Julian Knight, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Fuel, questioned if targeting drivers was reasonable. He said: ‘Everyone recognises this is an accident black spot, but is the only answer just slap fines on motorists?’

Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK Campaign, described the scheme as another ‘cash grab’, while taxi drivers say they have been hit particularly hard. 

Richard Massett, chairman of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said taxis had been ‘excluded from one of the most critical junctions in the City’.

ADVERTISEMENT

A driver who claimed he received ten fines said: ‘I came home from work one day to find a large bundle of fines, charging me over £1,200.

‘When I saw that I had to pay such a huge amount of money I started to panic ... it was more than a month’s rent’.

The scheme was implemented after 26-year-old cyclist Ying Tao was killed on the junction in 2016.

The City of London Corporation said the junction ‘has a high collision and casualty record that requires critical improvements’.

A spokesman said: ‘Our number one priority for the experimental scheme at Bank Junction is to improve safety ... We have made every effort to inform the public of the traffic restrictions.’

Most Read News

Gogglebox and Celebrity Big Brother star George Gilbey is dead at 40 'after work accident':...

Could Kate Garraway be forced to sell her £1.7m second home? Good Morning Britain host still owns...

Beckenham stabbing: Terrifying moment knifeman armed with huge blade attacks man on the train in...

London transport's 'night of carnage': Manhunt is underway for knifeman after passenger was stabbed...

Pictured: Scene where Gogglebox and Celebrity Big Brother star George Gilbey, 40, fell to his death...

Mooooooooove over please! Moment two hapless ramblers fall into fast running stream after avoiding...

Could these bombshell secret recordings FINALLY land Post Office bosses in the dock? Tapes show...

Homeowner is facing £400,000 repair bill after 40ft high ancient castle wall collapses outside his...

Nigerian woman faces seven years in prison for writing a damning online review of tomato puree

Moment Clapham chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi is given Muslim burial despite claiming to have...

Storm Nelson arrives in UK with snow hitting Devon: Yellow warning is issued for snow in Wales with...

Guests of 'crypto bro' firm are pictured awkwardly nibbling at buffet of sushi served off semi-naked...

'Adored' British ballet dancer, 34, died in Nepal plane crash that killed 72 after pilot pulled the...

'Catherine is thrilled by the kind wishes and support': Camilla thanks well-wishers for messages to...

The bitter feud inside Britain's greatest ever comedy double act: As Eric Morecambe's wife Joan dies...

Stomach-turning moment woman plunges 141ft from a bungee jump platform without a rope in terrifying...