The road between Tooting Bec and Tooting Graveney Commons will not be closed, after overwhelming public response to a Wandsworth Council consultation.

In the summer of 2015, Wandsworth Council asked its residents if they would like to see the road become part of the commons, and 58 per cent of residents agreed they would. 

March 31: Anger at proposal to include ban on right turns to Elmbourne Road in closure of Dr Johnson Avenue scheme

August 2015: Should cars be banned from Tooting Common road?

In January this year, a follow-up consultation was announced, proposing to close Dr Johnson Avenue and stop right-turns onto Elmbourne Road.

It was met with uproar from the Labour councillors for the area, and residents said it would make short journeys much more difficult.

In total more than 3,200 individual responses were received to the consultation. 

Nearly 70 per cent of respondents voiced opposition to the scheme.

Transport spokesman Councillor Jonathan Cook said: "This issue certainly generated a huge amount of interest in Tooting and Furzedown and I’m very pleased that so many local people took the time to register their views.

"This was the biggest response we have had to a public consultation for many years and it proves that our communication work was very successful and local people certainly did answer our invitation to take part.

"Obviously this was a consultation, not a referendum, but given the overwhelming response from local people, it is abundantly clear that this is not a scheme supported by local people."

Bedford ward councillor Fleur Anderson led a public meeting on the consultation and was vocal in her opposition.

She said: "This is fantastic news for us as local councillors to have spoken up for local people.

"The proposal just did not make sense to local people from the start, we are glad that people power has won over."

Cllr Anderson said she thought the proposal was designed by an "out-of-touch" town hall.

She said: "It proves that they did not listen to local people when they made up the plans.

"The local councillors would have said what was wrong straight away, but we were not spoken to."

Had the council pressed ahead, a six month trial of the new layout would have taken place, before consideration of whether the plan should be implemented permanently. 

Cllr Cook said he was shocked to hear Cllr Anderson's words, as the consultation process was "common sense".

He said: "You are asking people the general principle, saying what do you think and when you have done that you go further.

"It is common sense to move forward in small steps.

"We have been very straight forward about it.

"They said no so we said we will not do it."

Cllr Anderson circulated the consultation last summer, and wrote on the website she shares with Labour members in Tooting, that she knew residents were concerned changes to Dr Johnson Avenue could affect Elmbourne Road, where the speed of cars is already an issue.

In March, she said: "Many people, myself included, are in favour of closing Dr Johnson Avenue, but without proper planning to deal with displaced traffic from Elmbourne Road, they feel anxious that these proposals will make the Common more people friendly at the expense of the surrounding roads where air quality could suffer. The thinking at present is just not joined up."