Blessing Olubanjo has called on Camden Council to remove road crossings painted in the transgender colours at Tavistock Place and Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury, central London, saying that they infringe on her rights as a Christian.
She said, unless the road crossings were removed or repainted she would begin judicial review proceedings. This is an action to bring a legal challenge against what she calls unlawful political messaging.
The white, pink and blue stripe coloured road crossings are representative of the trans community and were first installed in 2021 to mark Transgender Awareness Week.
A spokesperson for Camden Council said it had received the letter and it rejects the arguments. The spokesperson said: “Camden is ‘no place for hate’ and we have a strong and continuing history of respect and support for everyone in our borough. We fight discrimination in all its forms and this includes being an ally to our trans residents.”
A judicial review would decide if the council followed the correct legal procedures and acted within its powers.
Ms Olubanjo, who is a member of the Christian Peoples Alliance Party, argues the crossings are breaches of equality and safety obligations and a violation of laws prohibiting political publicity by local authorities.
Her case is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre who cited a section of the Local Government Act 1986 which prohibits councils from publishing material that appears to promote a political party or a politically controversial viewpoint.
The crossing, they argue, is a form of “publication” under the Act, designed to influence public opinion on a divisive political issue.
In her letter Ms Olubanjo said the crossings were “a breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty due to known risks to disabled and neurodivergent individuals”.
In council documents from 2021, it said there had been “a small number of concerns raised around disability access of coloured crossings, particularly regarding those with visibility impairment”.
It said the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) stated it had concerns with “non-standard” crossings, external as they could cause confusion.
The council documents state: “Officers consider that the crossing is sufficiently simple to mitigate these concerns.”
