Councils given deadline to sign legal agreement to allow ULEZ camera installation work
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, gave Conservative councils until the end of yesterday (2 February) to sign a legal agreement allowing work to get underway to expand London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
Drivers of cars that do not meet the emissions standards will have to pay £12.50 a day to enter the Greater London Authority boundary, from 29 August 2023.
Four Conservative run councils have said they will not sign the official Section 8 agreement with TfL, in opposition to the plans.
Bromley, Bexley, Harrow and Hillingdon have sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Mayor of London’s office and Transport for London (TfL) seeking further information on the lawfulness of the decision to expand ULEZ.
In their pre-action protocol letter to the mayor and TfL, the councils cited four grounds for deeming the scheme "unlawful", which included the “lack of consultation” with people living outside of London, according to the BBC.
Cllr Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council said: “The decision to blatantly ignore a significant majority opinion of Londoners who responded to TfL’s consultation exercise, based on the highly questionable, selective and incomplete findings of a research paper commissioned by TfL themselves, simply cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged.”
In a letter to the chief executive of each of the four outer London councils, TfL asked each council to formally agree to the official Section 8 agreement and sign up by Thursday.
According to the BBC, the letter said the mayor has an "overwhelming preference" to work together, which would enable the boroughs to "engage with TfL and influence the final works, their locations and designs".
It is reported that TfL have the legal powers to “over-ride” the councils, even if they do not sign the agreement.
In another recent development, Surrey County Council has said it will block signs warning of the expanded ULEZ on its roads.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, said: “The Mayor has been clear that the decision to expand the Ultra-Low Emission Zone London-wide was not easy, but it’s necessary to reduce toxic air pollution, tackle the climate emergency and cut congestion in our city. Around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely each year due to the toxic air in our city, with the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution in London’s outer boroughs”.
It was announced yesterday that the Mayor has introduced new extended ULEZ “grace periods” for vehicle owners with a disabled tax class, wheelchair-accessible cars and vans, and Londoners claiming certain disability benefits.
Earlier this week, Mr Khan launched a £110m City-Hall funded vehicle scrappage scheme, to “help businesses, charities, low-income and disabled Londoners”.
Londoners receiving certain means-tested benefits and non-means-tested disability benefits can apply for cash grants of up to £2,000 to scrap their non ULEZ-compliant cars or motorcycles, as well as bus and tram passes, it was revealed.
Lottie Winson
