they are doing a similar thing in Crystal Palace and Dulwich from what I`ve been told, Palace have closed off several roads with limited access, which I got caught out because of this as I wasn't told though should have checked

Yet another poorly-thought-out wheeze (and likely one that is more about getting rid of cars completely and reveneue-raising than anything else) from a council. I also bet that the residents in that road never paid in full for the ANPR camers(s), but all council residents.

It's perfectly legitimate for residents of roads used as 'rat runs' to pressure the Council. It's also legitimate for the Councils to put in controls. The difficult bit is getting the balance right, particularly if the roads closed are in better off neighbourhoods and those adversely affected less so.