Enfield Council has begun removing e-bike parking bays it installed nearly two years ago, after a promised expansion of the Lime hire scheme into the south of the borough never happened. Local cycling group Better Streets for Enfield says the bays were removed without consultation.
The council agreed in December 2024 to let Lime extend its service from neighbouring Haringey up to the North Circular, covering Edmonton, Palmers Green and New Southgate. Twenty-two “micromobility” bays were eventually installed across the three wards to prepare for the rollout.
The bikes never arrived. Lime’s app kept what the council describes as a virtual barrier at the Enfield boundary, meaning riders could not cross into the borough even after the agreement was signed. The council says the unused bays have also, on occasion, been vandalised.
The council began removing the bays in late July, saying they were significantly underused. Some are being relocated to schools for bicycle and scooter parking instead — 12 schools have already expressed interest, the council says.
Enfield Council and Lime give conflicting accounts of why the scheme collapsed. A council spokesperson said Lime maintained a “virtual barrier” at the borough boundary despite being authorised to operate up to the North Circular. Lime disputes this and says the council failed to honour the original agreement, though has not detailed what it says was not delivered. North London News has approached both parties directly for comment.
The dispute became public at the end of July, three months after the Conservatives took control of Enfield Council in May’s local elections. Neither side has said whether the change in administration affected the decision.
Better Streets for Enfield says residents in the affected wards — which the group describes as areas of relative deprivation and low car ownership — were not consulted before the bays were removed. The group also noted that Transport for London is considering a single, borough-wide e-bike hire scheme that could require similar infrastructure in future.
This is not the first cycle hire scheme to falter in Enfield: a 2019 deal with operator Beryl Bikes was scrapped after three months following persistent vandalism.
Enfield Council received £30 million in emergency government support in February 2025 to help balance its budget, though it is not yet clear what installing or removing the micromobility bays has cost.
