The much criticized plan to expand London’s Ultra-low Emissions Zone was challenged by a group of councils at the High Court on Tuesday.
A coalition of five Conservative Party-led local authorities asked judges to look at the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London’s decision to widen the the program, which charges drivers of older and more polluting cars £12.50 ($15.90) a-day to use their vehicle anywhere in the city.
At present, the area covers a large part of London from north to south, and is charged on vehicles which do not meet low emissions standards. Under TfL proposals, this will be expanded to include all London boroughs, covering the majority of the land inside the M25, from Aug. 29.
The coalition of councils includes Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey, all outer boroughs of London that will be hit by the expansion argued the consultation was handled unfairly and it doesn’t comply with. The plan has sparked outrage among regular road users who argue they would be disproportionately affected by the changes.
Councillor Ian Edwards, leader of Hillingdon Council, said that he believed that the expansion had the potential to damage the local economies in London’s periphery, which meant that they “can’t afford not to fight.”
“The fact the court has granted us permission to challenge on three grounds gives us confidence they also see the flaws in TfL and the Mayor's proposals,” he said.
Khan has put cleaning up London’s air at the core of his agenda since taking office seeing it as a much as a public health issue as an environmental one.
“The Mayor has been clear that the decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide was not an easy one,” a spokesperson for his office said. “However, around 4,000 Londoners a year die prematurely from air pollution and Sadiq is not prepared to stand by and do nothing while Londoners grow up with stunted lungs and develop air-pollution linked health conditions such as cancer and heart disease.”
Author: Helen Chandler-Wilde
