Some residents in Highgate remain unhappy that a roundabout has been named after pro-democracy activist Boris Nemtsov

SUPPORT THE CNJ: CLICK ABOVE TO ADD YOUR DONATION TO OUR BIRTHDAY APPEAL

A GROUP of residents want Camden Council to review how it runs its consultation surveys, claiming schemes are being introduced with little public support.

They say they are still angry about changes to a roundabout at the corner of Swains Lane and Highgate Road, which has been renamed Boris Nemtsov Place in honour of the murdered Russian pro-democracy campaigner.

Ilana Pearlman, who lives in Brookfield Mansions, Highgate West Hill, said two new zebra crossings and wider pavements had made the junction less safe.

“The changes are not well designed,” she said. “I have lived here for 30 years and I have never seen anyone have a problem crossing the road. It feels instinctive, with a lack of consultation and disregard for residents’ views. It is nothing more than a tick-box exercise.”

It is claimed the safety upgrades have had the opposite effect, with drivers of the double-decker No 88 bus regularly getting marooned on the island it turns around.

Ms Pearlman said: “The new crossings means traffic builds up. The turning circle has to be inch perfect for buses to get round. It bears no regard to what the residents in the vicinity wanted. Everyone here opposed the plans – but it made no difference. It raises questions as to the value of these consultations.”

On the road’s new name, Highgate residents Helen and Alan Rapley remain embroiled in a complaints process with the Town Hall over the steps taken before it was chosen.

Ms Rapley said: “They claimed there was a consultation but there wasn’t. They claimed that 60 per cent of the replies were in support, but added it was not a referendum. They put up a couple of scrappy little signs and there was a little notice in the back of the New Journal.”

She added: “It wasn’t sufficient for people to feel they were informed. They asked people to email in, regardless of where they were from, and there was a campaign to get supporters to do that.”

Architect Margo Sagov, who lives in Brookfield Mansions, said of the new name: “It exposes us to danger and ridicule. “Our quiet neighbourhood could become a target for pro-Putin activists.”

Council leader Councillor Georgia Gould said the decision was in the tradition of Camden’s radical spirit – and had been widely supported.

She said: “The naming exercise was supported by a cross-party campaign nationally and a majority of residents who responded to the consultation. I have been contacted by Russian dissidents living in Camden who have said how much this idea means to them. Boris Nemtsov was a champion for freedom and I hope this act will support all who show enormous courage in the face of oppression.”

And Camden’s environment chief Labour councillor Adam Harrison, said the new layout made things safer for pedestrians, adding: “The changes received strong public support in the consultation, through which we consulted over 250 households and local groups, and one-third responded. The responses helped us make some changes to initial proposals, and improve the scheme.”

SEE ALSO CNJ’S BIRTHDAY – SUPPORT CAMPAIGNING JOURNALISM