Brent Council has issued penalty charge notices worth £1.15 million outside a single school in Kensal Rise in less than two years, prompting a ward councillor to question whether the restrictions are protecting children or becoming a source of revenue.
The School Street scheme at Manor School began in November 2024. Enforcement uses two cameras and mobile teams during school drop-off and pick-up periods, with drivers who breach the restriction facing a £160 penalty.
Councillor Barbara Want said the total “should have told them something wasn’t right”. She claimed signs were too high and not properly visible, and argued that continued traffic on the road raised questions about whether the scheme was achieving its safety purpose.
Brent said its signs complied with Department for Transport guidance. However, the council has decided to add lower-level signs and gateway features to make the restriction clearer.
Penalty notices worth £1.15 million
The £1.15 million figure relates to the value of penalty charge notices issued outside Manor School since the restriction began. It should not be treated as a confirmed total of money received: the value of notices issued and the amount collected are different measures.
The supplied figures also put average collections at £54,799 a month during term time across the 21 months the restriction has operated. Drivers can pay a reduced penalty of £80 if they do so within 14 days, rather than the full £160 charge.
The scale of enforcement at Manor School was apparent in earlier figures showing that its two cameras raised more than £107,000 in July 2025 alone. That monthly total concerned the cameras, while the scheme also uses mobile enforcement teams.
The figures make this one school road a focus of questions about how Brent applies its restrictions. They show substantial enforcement activity, but do not by themselves establish whether congestion or air quality outside the school has improved.
Nor does the value of the notices alone settle the disagreement about visibility. That dispute centres on whether drivers can clearly recognise the restriction before entering the road, rather than simply on how much the penalties are worth.
Councillor challenges visibility of signs
Want’s criticism links the number of penalties to the scheme’s stated purpose. Her argument is that, if drivers continue to use the restricted road, issuing fines does not necessarily mean children are being protected from traffic.
She said the signs were too high and not properly visible. That is her assessment, which Brent disputes through its statement that the signage meets Department for Transport guidance. Compliance with that guidance is the council’s position, not an independently verified finding in the information supplied.
Want also warned that the scheme risked becoming about revenue rather than road safety. The penalty totals provide the basis for her concern, but they do not establish that raising money was the council’s reason for introducing or maintaining the restriction.
Brent’s decision to install additional signs and gateway features addresses clarity at the entrance to the restricted area. The council has not said that its existing signs fail to comply with guidance; it is maintaining that they comply while making changes intended to improve visibility.
Safety aims and further review
Councillor Promise Knight, Brent’s cabinet member for cleaner streets, transport and public realm, said School Streets exist to make journeys to school safer by cutting congestion and improving air quality. She said the council would continue reviewing the Manor School scheme.
The disagreement therefore concerns both the purpose of the restriction and how it works in practice. Knight has defended its safety and air quality aims, while Want has questioned whether persistent traffic and the scale of penalties indicate a problem with its operation.
Earlier borough-wide figures showed 70,000 penalty charge notices issued across Brent’s School Streets in 12 months, equivalent to 384 per school day. Those figures cover the wider programme and should not be confused with the total for Manor School alone.
The next identified change at Manor School is the addition of lower-level signs and gateway features. No installation date has been supplied. Brent’s commitment to keep reviewing the restriction leaves its performance under scrutiny, with the central question remaining whether clearer signs reduce breaches and help deliver the safer school journeys the council says the scheme is designed to provide.
