Council leaders oppose London Mayor’s plan to extend ULEZ.

Leaders of London councils Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, and Hillingdon have refused to sign an agreement on Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) scheme and are now seeking to challenge it in the courts. Khan claims that each year 4,000 Londoners die prematurely due to long-term exposure to air pollution, with the greatest number of deaths in outer London boroughs. However, the council leaders have cited a study by Imperial College London that said that while ULEZ did reduce the city’s nitrogen dioxide levels during the first few weeks of its implementation, it was not a “silver bullet.” In a response letter to Khan, the leaders have said that with such “little benefit to be gained” from the expansion of ULEZ, “very careful consideration must be given to the adverse impacts it will have on residents and businesses, and we believe that you have failed to give sufficient weight to this.” They have also raised concerns about thousands of cameras using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to detect entry being fitted across London.

The ULEZ is an area in which vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £12.50 to drive or face fines. It covers four million people, around 44 percent of London’s population. The scheme currently covers the areas within London’s North and South Circular roads, and is set to expand to the whole of Greater London from Aug. 29, 2023. To avoid the ULEZ fee, diesel vehicles, which make up the vast majority of vans—must be Euro 6 standard, which generally covers those registered from 2016. A delivery van driver or tradesperson entering the zone in an older van every working day will rack up more than £3,100 a year in charges. Drivers who fail to pay face a £160 penalty each day, which is halved if paid within a fortnight.

Leader of Bromley Council Colin Smith told The Epoch Times the air quality in the area is “pretty damn good for a town around any major city” and has claimed that Khan’s figures ignore residents and businesses. Khan singled out Bromley as having the highest number of premature deaths linked to air pollution, but Smith said the study he cited noted that this was down to the high number of older residents living in the town. Smith added that elderly residents in Bromley spent their younger years living in London boroughs, exposed to London smogs and smoke-filled pubs of the past, but also that residents move their elderly family to a high number of care homes there. He said that local residents and independent business owners such as plumbers and workmen are under pressure to buy vans that need to meet minimum emissions standards.

Smith added that “what this is all about is money” and that “people are struggling to pay their bills at the moment, for all sorts of reasons. And even if this were the right idea, the timing of it is absolutely shocking.” He said that council leaders could have more news on a legal challenge within the week.

Khan has previously stated it is “simply not true” that the scheme is a “money-making venture.” He has said that Transport for London (TfL) expects net income to fall to “nominal levels within the next few years” and until then, all net revenue will be reinvested back into transport in London. A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told The Epoch Times by email that the “air quality data used by City Hall is completely robust and is based on the most accurate scientific investigation into the human cost of poor air from globally renowned experts at Imperial College London.”

Leaders of London councils Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, and Hillingdon are challenging London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) scheme in the courts. Khan claims that each year 4,000 Londoners die prematurely due to long-term exposure to air pollution, with the greatest number of deaths in outer London boroughs. However, the council leaders have cited a study by Imperial College London that said that while ULEZ did reduce the city’s nitrogen dioxide levels during the first few weeks of its implementation, it was not a “silver bullet.” The leaders have said that with such “little benefit to be gained” from the expansion of ULEZ, “very careful consideration must be given to the adverse impacts it will have on residents and businesses, and we believe that you have failed to give sufficient weight to this.” They have also raised concerns about thousands of cameras using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to detect entry being fitted across London.

The ULEZ is an area in which vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £12.50 to drive or face fines. It covers four million people, around 44 percent of London’s population. The scheme currently covers the areas within London’s North and South Circular roads, and is set to expand to the whole of Greater London from Aug. 29, 2023. To avoid the ULEZ fee, diesel vehicles, which make up the vast majority of vans—must be Euro 6 standard, which generally covers those registered from 2016. A delivery van driver or tradesperson entering the zone in an older van every working day will rack up more than £3,100 a year in charges. Drivers who fail to pay face a £160 penalty each day, which is halved if paid within a fortnight.

Leader of Bromley Council Colin Smith has said that Khan’s figures ignore residents and businesses, and that the air quality in the area is “pretty damn good for a town around any major city.” Smith added that Khan singled out Bromley as having the highest number of premature deaths linked to air pollution, but the study he cited noted that this was down to the high number of older residents living in the town. Smith has said that local residents and independent business owners such as plumbers and workmen are under pressure to buy vans that need to meet minimum emissions standards, and that “what this is all about is money.” He added that “people are struggling to pay their bills at the moment, for all sorts of reasons. And even if this were the right idea, the timing of it is absolutely shocking.”

Khan has previously stated it is “simply not true” that the scheme is a “money-making venture.” He has said that Transport for London (TfL) expects net income to fall to “nominal levels within the next few years” and until then, all net revenue will be reinvested back into transport in London. A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told The Epoch Times by email that the “air quality data used by City Hall is completely robust and is based on the most accurate scientific investigation into the human cost of poor air from globally renowned experts at Imperial College London.”

Council leaders of London boroughs Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, and Hillingdon have refused to sign an agreement on London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) scheme and are now seeking to challenge it in the courts. Khan claims that each year 4,000 Londoners die prematurely due to long-term exposure to air pollution, with the greatest number of deaths in outer London boroughs. However, the council leaders have cited a study by Imperial College London that said that while ULEZ did reduce the city’s nitrogen dioxide levels during the first few weeks of its implementation, it was not a “silver bullet.” In a response letter to Khan, the leaders have said that with such “little benefit to be gained” from the expansion of ULEZ, “very careful consideration must be given to the adverse impacts it will have on residents and businesses, and we believe that you have failed to give sufficient weight to this.” They have also raised concerns about thousands of cameras using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to detect entry being fitted across London.

The ULEZ is an area in which vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £12.50 to drive or face fines. It covers four million people, around 44 percent of London’s population. The scheme currently covers the areas within London’s North and South Circular roads, and is set to expand to the whole of Greater London from Aug. 29, 2023. To avoid the ULEZ fee, diesel vehicles, which make up the vast majority of vans—must be Euro 6 standard, which generally covers those registered from 2016. A delivery van driver or tradesperson entering the zone in an older van every working day will rack up more than £3,100 a year in charges. Drivers who fail to pay face a £160 penalty each day, which is halved if paid within a fortnight.

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