Demonstration against the expansion of the London ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zone), Trafalgar Square, London, 15 April. Photo Workers.
The High Court has granted a judicial review of the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone beyond the existing Inner London Congestion Charge zone up to the boundaries of Greater London. The review will be heard in July.
The four outer London councils challenging the legality of the London mayor’s plan, plus neighbouring Surrey County Council, are acting in effect under mandate from their residents and businesses together with taxi drivers, sole traders and others who need to cross borough boundaries for work.
The extension will cost drivers of non-compliant older vehicles £12.50 a day from August. Simply, local people accuse the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, of ignoring their democratic right to public consultation and debate.
Their rally in Trafalgar Square on 15 April, under the campaign banner “Together”, was an exercise in democratic debate. The many conflicting aspects of road pricing and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods were discussed: the undisputed importance of clean air; the unintended consequences of traffic reduction, such as bottlenecks and rat runs through residential streets, shifting pollution to new areas; the proliferation of enforcement cameras; delays to fixed-route bus services; the harm to the high streets; the differing needs of outer London; the inadequacy of the mayor’s vehicle scrappage scheme; and the severe impact on all who cannot afford to upgrade their cars to avoid the daily charge.
The general view at the rally was that the ULEZ is a money-making scheme (£226 million in fines in 2022) to compensate for the under-funding of public transport in London. “It was never about air quality” said the leader of Bexley Council.