Weltje Road ANPR Cameras Set To Be Activated

Drivers ignoring restrictions will initially be issued warning letters

Visualisation of the second phase of changes planned at the junction later this year. Picture: H&F Council/AI

October 5, 2026

New access restrictions on Weltje Road enforced by ANPR cameras will be activated this Wednesday (7 October).

The date has been confirmed both in a statutory notice published in The London Gazette and in information shared with local residents. Although it had already been reported that the scheme would come into force in October, the precise start date was not known.

The council says in a leaflet distributed in the area that warning letters will be issued to drivers who ignore the restrictions in the initial few weeks of operation.

The Experimental Traffic Order, titled The Hammersmith and Fulham (Weltje Road) (Prescribed Routes) Experimental Order 2026, establishes an 18-month trial restricting access to Weltje Road for most out-of-borough drivers. Motorists travelling along King Street will be prohibited from entering Weltje Road unless they fall within one of the permitted categories. The council says the measure is intended to reduce congestion, pollution and road danger at a junction identified by the London Cycling Campaign as the fifth most dangerous in the capital.

Further operational details have been distributed to residents in a leaflet, clarifying how the scheme will work in practice. The council says its smart camera technology will automatically recognise Weltje Road residents, their visitors and deliveries, allowing them to enter and exit the road without penalty. It is understood that this will be done by recognition that a vehicle did not drive straight through. H&F residents living on neighbouring streets will be able to grant visitor access through the RingGo app if they hold a Resident Visitor Permit.

The leaflet also confirms that black cabs and private hire operators such as Uber, Bolt, Addison Lee and Wheely will be exempt when carrying out pick-ups or drop-offs on Weltje Road. Local businesses will be able to register for a Business Visitor Permit, enabling staff, customers and deliveries to continue accessing the road. The council says the camera trial will run for up to 18 months, during which residents, businesses and local schools will be consulted to ensure their access needs are protected.

The scheme mirrors the restrictions introduced last year on nearby Rivercourt Road, where the council claims vehicle numbers have fallen by 75 per cent. Weltje Road currently carries more than 2,000 vehicles a day, over 90 per cent had a registered owner outside the borough.

The plans have drawn criticism from Hounslow Council and local Conservative councillors, who argue the restriction will displace traffic onto neighbouring roads and remove what they describe as the only convenient route onto the eastbound A4. Hounslow Council has already objected to the Rivercourt Road order and is expected to do the same for Weltje Road.

Cllr Nicole Trehy, H&F’s Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Travel, has previously said the trial is being introduced to make Weltje Road safer for schoolchildren, walkers and cyclists, and to reduce congestion caused by sat-nav routing on what should be a quiet residential street. She also reiterated that the smart camera system could, if Hounslow wished, allow Chiswick streets to be reopened exclusively for Hounslow residents to access the A4.

The Weltje Road restriction forms Phase One of the council’s wider safety plan for the area. Phase Two, due later this year, will involve physical changes at the junction with King Street.