A council has backtracked over a fine issued to a cyclist in London and admitted the £100 fixed-penalty notice should never have been given to the rider who was using a shared-use crossing when he was stopped by an enforcement officer.

Academic Dr Paulo Ceppi was cycling to Imperial College in London when he was stopped and fined as he rode across a shared-use crossing island in the middle of the A4 West Cromwell Road. Now, having raised his experience with The Standard, the newspaper has helped hold the council to account and get the fine rescinded.

A4 shared-use crossing
A4 shared-use crossing (Image Credit: Google Maps)

Despite signage clearly showing the crossing as a shared-use route, Dr Ceppi was stopped by an agent “hidden behind bushes” and issued a fixed-penalty notice at about 9am on July 3.

A4 shared-use crossing
A4 shared-use crossing (Image Credit: Google Maps)

“I was cycling very slowly and she caught me by surprise. She said: ‘Please show me your ID’,” he recalled to the newspaper, later questioning if the decision to stop him there was an “insidious, unjust tactic” to “trap” cyclists and make money.

“I thought I was fully within the law by cycling carefully on what looks like a shared pathway. I wouldn’t have wanted to run away — I don’t want to do something that seems criminal.”

A4 shared-use crossing
A4 shared-use crossing (Image Credit: Google Maps)

The Standard reporter Ross Lydall raised the case with Kensington & Chelsea Council who have now admitted the fine was “issued in error” and would be cancelled. An investigation is underway to determine if more riders have been incorrectly fined at the location, the local authority’s private enforcement contractors apparently “reminded” not to issue fines to cyclists using the shared-use route.

It’s the latest PSPO (Public Spaces Protection Order) controversy concerning cycling bans in urban areas, councils able to enforce the orders in the name of stopping anti-social behaviour. Just as in this case, other locations have seen issues with private enforcement agents incorrectly fining law-abiding riders.

Last summer, Colchester City Council apologised and waived fines after local campaigners complained that people on bikes were being unfairly targeted by third-party “cowboy” wardens “running amok”, discouraging people from cycling in the city.

In one case a female rider was slapped with a £100 fine despite riding on a designated cycle path, the council warden having claimed the cyclist was riding on a footway, that despite the route being clearly marked as a shared-use path since 2011.

> “Rogue” wardens accused of “lying in wait” for cyclists riding on pavement beside busy roundabout, as two cyclists fined £100 for breaching anti-social cycling order at same spot

Similarly, we recently revealed that another PSPO, banning cycling in Grimsby (which has become infamous due to hundreds of riders being fined, some being ordered to pay more than £1,000 in court), was being incorrectly enforced too, signage banning cycling wrongly placed on a shared-use route in the town.

Grimsby PSPO enforcement officer stops cyclist
Grimsby PSPO enforcement officer stops cyclist (Image Credit: North East Lincolnshire Council)

Last week, North East Lincolnshire Council told us that no cyclists had been fined in the part of the town centre where the cycling ban sign was wrongly placed, but that signage would be amended “as soon as possible”.

Back in London, Dr Ceppi said he’s “pleased” Kensington & Chelsea’s council has owned up to the error, but said it’s a “shame it only happened after The Standard contacted them and not when I initially challenged the fine, when they backed their agent’s decision.”

He was initially told by an administrator for the private enforcement company that they are “satisfied that the fixed penalty notice was issued correctly”. The council has now admitted this was wrong and the fine will be cancelled.

Dr Ceppi continued: “I hope other cyclists experiencing similar unjust tactics will also have their fines cancelled. More importantly, using this strategy that contracts out to a private company, is at best short-sighted and at worst insidious.

“It does nothing to safeguard pedestrians as it only informs those cyclists who are fined, while many will continue to use this pathway completely unaware. Ultimately, it benefits no one apart from their bank balances.

“Rather than trapping cyclists, K&C need to improve infrastructure and signage for pedestrians and cyclists – particularly along the treacherous A4, notorious for cyclist accidents.

“To me, it sounds more like a money-making operation rather than ensuring the long-term safety for pedestrians and cyclists.”

A spokesperson for the council apologised to the cyclist “for the inconvenience” and said officers would be reminded “to check shared use spaces before issuing penalties for cycling”.

They said: “After a council officer has reviewed this complaint and location, we can see that this fixed penalty notice was issued in error and have asked Kingdom for it be cancelled, which they have agreed to.”

Last week, a council spokesperson told us it was prioritising “the safety and well-being of our residents and visitors, and the PSPO’s restriction on cycling on pavements helps to protect everyone, especially vulnerable pedestrians who have no alternative place to walk”.

That came after a cyclist shared a post on Reddit suggesting that riders were being fined for riding on a pavement beside the “very dangerous” A4.

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea has long been controversial with London’s cyclists, the borough often cited as one of the worst parts of the capital to cycle due to its lack of cycling infrastructure compared with other nearby areas.

During the pandemic the council installed a cycle lane on Kensington High Street but then controversially ripped it out a short while later, prompting much criticism and a High Court challenge. The council thought adding a painted, advisory cycle lane would appease those who used the formerly segregated infrastructure, a move that attracted further criticism.

Kensington High Street pop-up cycle lane (picture Simon MacMichael)
Kensington High Street pop-up cycle lane, removed in December 2020 (picture Simon MacMichael) (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

In fact, in 2023, the council was labelled “embarrassing” and “dinosaurs” for installing a painted, advisory cycle lane on sections of a road where protected cycling infrastructure had been ripped out two years previously. The local authority claimed the painted lanes would allow “space for everyone”, something which cycling campaigners took particular issue with.