A temporary cycle lane on Kensington High Street will be removed after businesses and residents expressed concerns that the experimental scheme was not working.

Kensington Business Forum and Kensington and Chelsea Chamber of Commerce both wrote to the Council to ask that the temporary lane be removed in time for Christmas shoppers to visit the High Street. Action Disability Kensington and Chelsea also raised concerns about the impact on disabled people visiting the High Street.

The Council has listened to this feedback and the lane will begin to be removed from 2 December, as the second national lockdown lifts. Work will take place overnight to minimise disruption and is expected to take around five nights, depending on weather.

The lane was introduced to support residents and commuters to travel to and through the High Street, whilst public transport operates at a lower capacity. The lane was also an experiment to see if local shoppers would be tempted to the High Street with a cycle lane in place.

Local businesses have raised concerns that as lockdown lifts, congestion could increase to pre-lockdown levels, hindering potential customers from reaching their businesses.