Nearly every Home Counties council neighbouring London has announced a refusal to co-operate with London’s Mayor on the introduction of a capital-wide Ultra Low Emission Zone.
The Telegraph reports that Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire have now pledged to join Kent and Surrey in blocking the installation of any ULEZ cameras or signs warning drivers entering the new charging zone.
The report adds that Slough, the part of Berkshire that directly borders London, has also raised concerns about ULEZ but has not yet decided whether it will block signs.
This is in addition to eight outer London boroughs refusing to install ULEZ cameras within their boundaries.
Sadiq Khan plans that ULEZ will cover all 32 London boroughs, with those driving cars which do not meet emissions standards having to pay £12.50 each day.
Councils are complaining that the charge will hit the poorest hardest, despite them often not having any realistic alternative mode of transport.
Orpington MP Gareth Bacon, also writing in the Telegraph, criticised the plan saying: “A one-size fits all solution like ULEZ expansion is a sledgehammer that will hurt working people and businesses when few can afford it. Over 80% of the households within my constituency have cars. Across outer London, more than half of households earning as little as £10,000 own a car. Without access to the Tube, fewer buses, and poor orbital public transport routes, the majority of people rely on their cars to get to work and the shops, or to visit family and friends.”
Mr Khan says the ULEZ expansion is needed to improve air quality and save lives.
(Picture – RAC)
