More than £5 million of fines will not be paid back despite the council admitting they were unfair – and despite campaigners asking councillors to look at the budget again.

Traffic restrictions were set up in Surbiton Crescent, Kingston, as part of the council’s £30 million cycle highway scheme Go Cycle, funded by the Mayor of London, temporarily in November 2016 and permanently from June 2017.

The signage is widely believed to have been inadequate, and leader of the council Cllr Liz Green, who was in opposition until May 2018, is on record as saying the signs were both unclear and unfair, and has previously asked for first-time offenders to be repaid.

Helen Hinton, who presented a petition last year to try to stop the scheme being made permanent, led a deputation at a council meeting to discuss the new administration’s “emergency budget” on July 17, asking for some of the money to be paid back.

She said: “Although we of course agree that when motorists contravene a traffic order, fines should be issued, we implore the council to use common sense.

“There is no dispute that more than 68,000 fines have been issued, generating over £5 million in income for the council.

“The magnitude of penalties cannot be ignored – do you think motorists are trying to get fined? No amount of official guidance on signage, illumination etc. can factor in local circumstances.

“The signage was inadequate, misleading and confusing.”

A section of the Lib Dem administration’s “emergency budget” document, approved at the meeting, was dedicated to Surbiton Crescent.

In it, they claimed they cannot afford to pay the money back, blaming the recently ousted Conservatives for the state of the council’s finances.

At the meeting, Ms Hinton spoke for five minutes and there was an opportunity for councillors to ask questions and debate the fines.

Just one question was asked of Ms Hinton: whether she knew how much money the council would be required to pay.

And, on advice from an officer, councillors decided not to debate the matter because they did not legally have to.

Ms Hinton said after the meeting: “I’m disappointed that there was no discussion. This whole thing feels like a complete stitch-up.

“I understand that there’s no money, but the Lib Dems understood that too – yet they still campaigned on it.

“It seems like they say one thing and do another. They said the Surbiton Crescent money was gained incorrectly – so almost stolen – so therefore surely it should be given back.”