Newcastle traffic camera refunds: More than £2m still unclaimed

Thousands of drivers were caught in the bus lane on the northbound side of the city centre road

Drivers caught on camera in a controversial bus lane in Newcastle have yet to reclaim more than £2m in refunds.

Before cameras were turned off in June 2017, more than 73,000 motorists were fined for driving along John Dobson Street over an 18-month period.

The city council offered the refunds in August after a report found road signs were "misleading and wrong".

Only 6,357 payments have been issued, totalling £208,680, the council said.

After John Dobson Street was redesigned in 2016, the camera trained on the northbound bus lane soon became the most profitable in the country - generating nearly £6,000 a day from penalty charges.

In July, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal upheld a previous ruling that drivers were not given enough warning about entering the bus lane and accused the local authority of "fundamental negligence".

The council said it stood by the signage but wanted to draw a line under the issue and offered refunds of up to £90.

'Easy as possible'

In addition to the refunds already issued, a further 375 requests have been rejected.

While applications are still being accepted, the Labour-run council said it no longer has staff dedicated to dealing with the matter so any new requests will take longer to process.

Liberal Democrat opposition councillors have called for an inquiry into how much the saga has cost and for confirmation about what will be done with the remaining £2m, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

However, Councillor Arlene Ainsley, the authority's cabinet member for transport and air quality, insisted the refund process was "as easy as possible" with drivers wishing to claim from £30 to £90 advised to visit the authority's website.