Newham Council made more than £1million from fining drivers down a single street in 2022.

For the second year in a row, Newham Council dished out the most driving fines in Browning Road (north side), a Freedom of Information request from the Local Democracy Reporting Service has revealed.

FOI data shows the street generated £2,444,508 for the council in 2021 and made £1,018,878 from drivers who failed to abide by traffic restrictions last year (2022).

In 2022, Newham Council handed out 22,150 driving fines in this location alone, which accounts for almost a fifth of the total income generated from finding drivers during the time period at £5,548,214.

At the time of the FOI request (January 2023), the council had already made more than £74,000 from drivers caught without a permit and driving the wrong way down Browning Road that year.

The Browning Road Bridge scheme was introduced as a trial back in 2019 after residents complained about huge numbers of cars using residential roads as rat runs from Romford Road all the way to High Street North in East Ham.

Residents who live near the road are able to access the road in the southbound direction but must have a valid permit.

The closure was eventually made permanent in 2020 after the council found air pollution had reduced by 40per cent following the trial.

Asadul Haque, who owns Auto MOT Centre Limited in nearby Rectory Road, said: “What [the council] has done is they’ve made it one-way and for permit holders only, so as soon as people go left, by the time they see the sign, it’s too late.

“I’m losing customers and I’m getting a bad reputation as well, people don’t want to come here because they’ll get a ticket.”

Mr Haque argues there are not enough signs in the streets to warn drivers of the traffic scheme.

He said: “There’s no signs, nothing at all and sometimes customers are just talking to me and will get a ticket.”

Councillor James Asser, cabinet member for environment and sustainable transport, said: “The Browning Road Bridge area scheme was put in place following complaints from residents about the high numbers of cars travelling through the area with some residential roads clogged as the area was used as a shortcut for vehicles passing through the borough.

“Since the camera enforcement scheme on Browning Road Bridge was introduced, those roads have seen a reduction in traffic, average speeds have reduced, and the area has seen reduced levels of Nitrogen Dioxide [NO2] in the immediate area by 40pc, meaning that our residents breathe in cleaner air.”