A collective group of elected representatives across south east London and Kent have written to the Mayor of London and Commissioner of Transport for London to discuss the “temporary” speeding measures on the A20 Eastbound in Sidcup.

A number of drivers have received Notice of Intended Prosecutions (NIPs) after "speeding" along the A20 Eastbound, which has been “temporarily” changed to a 40mph road, due to flooding concerns, despite still having a 50mph sign.

Some have said they are at risk of losing their jobs, homes, and driving licenses.

A TfL spokesperson says they have “reviewed" the signage at this location and found that an “incorrect” 50mph sign has been recently placed at this location by an unauthorised third party.

Eleven MPs and one GLA said that the communication of the temporary change of speed limits has been “poor”, as the majority of people heard about the changes through email enquiries and a freedom of information request.

MPs include Louie French MP, Sir Bob Neill MP, Kelly Tolhurst MP, Sir David Evennett MP, Laura Trott MP, Gareth Johnson MP, and more.

A letter sent to Sadiq Khan and the Commissioner of Transport for London today, (January 31) says: “We write to you today as a collective group of elected representatives to raise our serious concerns regarding the ‘temporary’ measures Transport for London (TfL) have introduced on the A20 Eastbound near Sidcup.

“In recent weeks, these MPs have been contacted by many drivers across London and the South East who have been issued speeding fines but were unaware of the reduction in the speed limit from 70mph and 50mph to 40mph on this stretch of the A20.

“The majority of drivers have stated that they have been issued fines for travelling at speeds less than 50mph, with many concerned that they could now lose their freedom to drive and in some cases their jobs due to multiple fines and points being issued in quick succession.

“Your communication of this "temporary" change has been poor, with a combination of email enquiries and freedom of information requests being the main way in which the public have been informed of this change.”

The letter continues to say that TfL has “not carried out any public consultation or confirmed when the temporary speed limit will end”, and that the signage has only improved due to a “flurry of complaints”.

The letter continues: “TfL were clear last year that fines would not be issued for these new 'temporary' speed limits until adequate signage and warnings had been put in place for drivers.

“However, as highlighted to you again by a local journalist this week, there is still at least one sign stating 50mph and many Satellite Navigation systems are still showing 50mph and 70mph for this section of road.

“This creates many concerns from both a road safety and fairness perspective.”

On January 30, the News Shopper reached out to TfL to see if they could provide any information about the fines and endorsements that have previously been issued to people.

A spokesperson for TfL advised that this was for the Metropolitan Police as the fines were issued by the force - but we are still awaiting a response.

A Facebook group dedicated to supporting those who have received speeding fines on this particular stretch of the A20 was created on January 17, 2024, and as of today, (January 31), more than 500 people have joined.

The elected representatives are now challenging the Mayor of London to “take the following actions immediately to resolve this ongoing mess” including:

"1) Confirm the dates when the road safety works will begin and when the "temporary" speed limit will be ended.

"2) Confirm what steps you are taking to improve the signage for drivers and what proactive communications you are taking to ensure Satellite Navigation systems are updated.

"3) Confirm how many speeding fines have been issued on this stretch of road since the cameras and new speed limits were installed. Please treat this as a freedom of information request if you are not willing to be transparent.

"4) Request that the police cancel all speeding fines and license points directly linked to this ongoing issue, especially those where drivers were travelling 50mph and under."

The News Shopper previously spoke with four individuals who have been slapped with NIPs after driving on this stretch of road, including Steve Bradley and his partner Miriam, who received nine NIPs over the course of one week after volunteering at the Bob Hope Theatre in Eltham.

Steve says the pair drove up the A20 towards Eltham and back in two separate cars over the first week of January for the show opening, which resulted in Miriam receiving six NIPs, and Steve three, all between the speeds of 47 to 49mph.

Steve told the News Shopper: “We are also juggling looking after our 20-month old.

“Without knowing, the change had occurred and simply following the flow of traffic, we have equated enough tickets to cause us immense stress.

“Miriam is heavily pregnant with our second child and the only reason we have had to make journey more frequent than usual is because our best friend died at the end of last year.

“He was directing the show and his passing resulted in us taking on even more responsibility for the production, hence the number of trips in quick succession.”

A TfL spokesperson said: “Safety is our number one priority and we have temporarily introduced a 40mph speed limit on the A20 Sidcup Road due to ongoing surface water flooding and water sheeting which has caused a number of safety concerns and serious risk to road users. The reduced speed limit has been introduced in response to that risk.

"We want to ensure that all drivers are treated fairly and speed limit signage, compliant with traffic sign regulations, was installed to reflect the new limit. We have reviewed the signage at this location and have found that an in incorrect 50mph sign has been recently placed at this location by an unauthorised third party. This has been replaced with the correct 40mph signage and we are investigating how the incorrect sign was installed.”