Portobello Road anti-terror measures consultation
A West London council accused of installing anti-terror concrete barriers on Portobello Road without consulting residents says it will begin speaking with them “in weeks” about permanent measures.
Kensington and Chelsea Council’s Lead Member for Environment and Planning, Johnny Thalassites, said officers are working on proposals for permanent measures and would consult on the “look and feel” of the street with them in place.
It comes after residents living on the iconic West London strip took legal action against the council in August. A month earlier, Kensington and Chelsea Council installed the barriers following counter-terrorism guidance from the Metropolitan Police.
Addressing a question on the matter during Wednesday night’s full council, the lead member acknowledged the barriers caused problems for people in the area.
He also said they were installed “at pace” after the council received counter-terror advice urging it to introduce safety measures “as soon as possible”. Cllr Thalassites said the council used an anti-terror traffic order suggested to them by the Met, which he said prohibits full consultation.
He said: “The council has a statutory duty to put safety first and we’ve done with what we’ve done in relation to that counter-terror advice.”
Cllr Thalassites argued the council previously consulted on the use of safety barriers as part of a wider revamp of the street, known as the Strengthening Portobello Project.
He added: “I recognise there has been disruption, and there are many complexities in terms of emergency vehicle access but we’re committed to consulting fully on this permanent scheme in the next few weeks and the next few years, in terms of the different phases. We need to balance our counter-terrorism obligations with the harm it is doing to the residential amenity.”
‘No immediate danger’
Labour’s Mohammed Bakhtiar, who represents the ward in which Portobello Road is located, said he and a fellow ward councillor were told there was no imminent danger to the public in a Microsoft Teams meeting shortly after the measures were put in place.
He told the chamber: “I did ask specifically one question, was there an imminent danger? If there was, we don’t oppose, we support the actions. And the answer was no. So, if there is no imminent danger, we should include people, we should ask people, those who are affected.”
The announcement came after Patrick Somers, a Portobello Road resident, asked why the council hadn’t consulted households before installing the concrete barriers. Mr Somers, who is leading the legal challenge, according to the Guardian, said residents have been concerned about hostile vehicle attacks for many years.
He said: “We absolutely support, and we want, anti-terror measures to be put in but what was done to us effectively traps us in our homes for up to seven days a week, six hours a day.
“I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this for some time now since this was all dropped on us in May and June this year and the residents were forced for, I’m afraid, the same reason that previous speakers have been talking about, which is an absolute lack of communication and engagement by the council on what they are proposing to do.”
He also challenged Cllr Thalassites’ claim residents had been consulted as part of the Strengthening Portobello Project. He said: “You didn’t consult us on the type of measures – which look awful, by the way – and you didn’t talk to us about being restricted in our homes, the way you’ve done it.
“What I heard is the reason you’ve done something after all these years is as a knee-jerk reaction to what the Met Police, who have a really hard job to do, have quite rightly asked what are you doing about hostile vehicles measures on Portobello Road.”
Kensington and Chelsea Council introduced the temporary order to protect people and said it would consult residents over a permanent solution. Kensington and Chelsea Council and Cllr Bakhtiar were approached for further comment.