South London residents say the upcoming ULEZ expansion will be a “nightmare” for motorists, with the charge “destroying the livelihood” of those who rely on their cars for a living.
Last Friday, the Mayor of London’s planned expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was ruled as lawful by the High Court.
The scheme means people driving old and polluting vehicles in London will be charged £12.50 to use the city’s roads from August 29.
The challenge was launched by the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, alongside Surrey County Council.
Billy Leverage, 69, is from Locksbottom in Bromley borough and returned to live in the area seven years ago. He said the planned expansion has been a “nightmare” for motorists, despite his car not being affected by the scheme.
Mr Leverage told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “These are your key workers. These are your scaffolders. These are your independent builders. It’s not fair to them.”
Conservative Councillor Colin Smith, leader of Bromley Council, said at a meeting on February 27 that the maximum legal cost to the council would be £140,000 if the legal case was lost.
Bexley Council documents show that the total cost to the five councils for the review if it failed would be £400,000, with £100,000 being charged to Bexley Council specifically.
A Freedom of Information request seen by the LDRS showed that Bexley Council had spent £18,950 on the challenge as of May 23 this year.
Regarding the money spent by the councils on the legal challenge, Mr Leverage said: “I think we should challenge it. How much difference is it going to make on my council tax? It’s not going to make a lot. Maybe a couple of quid, right? But you’ve got to try.”
Steve Evans, 66, lives in Dartford but comes to Bexley town centre a few times a week. He said better infrastructure was needed in outer London boroughs to discourage motorists, and people were becoming “poorer” because of additional charges such as ULEZ.
Mr Evans told the LDRS: “I just think it’s affecting little businesses around here like the shops and that. It just has an effect on everything; the economy, the people.
“I think we’re in enough of a mess as it is. We don’t need it. I don’t think we need it, and I know they’re saying we need to be green and trying to save people because of illness and everything else but I think it’s just an excuse to put up taxes.”
Barry Dent, 43, is the manager of The Railway Tavern in Bexley town centre. He said he never thought the zone would expand to outer London, and the scheme has forced his wife to have to sell her car in order to find a compliant vehicle.
“It’s not an old car,” he said, “but we travel pretty much every day. So if you’re working out that you’re going to travel five days a week at £12.50 a day, that’s £62.50 a week… They’re taking away people’s livelihoods, all these people that drive for a living.”
He added: “It is what it is. I don’t agree with it, I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s going to help the flow of traffic, because you’re still going to get your big lorries coming through.
“This is quite a busy high street. We have three deliveries a week, it’s never going to stop. Obviously they’re big old lorries that are coming in here.”
Labour Councillor Simon Jeal, leader of the Bromley Labour Group, told the LDRS that the group condemned Bromley Council’s spending on the challenge as a “waste of taxpayer’s money”.
He said that the group saw the campaign as “politically-motivated” and called on the council to disclose publicly how much money had been lost on the challenge, as well as focussing efforts on the expansion’s scrappage scheme.
The Bexley Labour Group said in a statement that it was also calling on Bexley Council to reveal the final amount that was spent on the legal challenge, as well as the legal advice given to the council leader beforehand.
Labour Councillor Stefano Borella, leader of the group, said the borough’s residents should be allowed to judge whether the challenge was an “effective use” of council resources.
Conservative Councillor Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE, leader of Bexley Council, told the LDRS that she was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome of the judicial review and financial burden the charge would bring to residents.
She said she would continue to call on the Mayor of London to delay implementing the scheme.
Cllr O’Neill said: “At the start of this fight we were open about the funds set aside. Services have not suffered as a result of us being part of the coalition and we do not regret taking this action on behalf of Bexley residents and businesses.”
Conservative Councillor Colin Smith, leader of Bromley Council, told the LDRS that the costs of the challenge had been contained within the council’s budget and that the final figure would be revealed once available.
He described the challenge as a “well balanced risk” and that he would make the same decision again if there were any possibility of success.
Cllr Smith said: “Whilst unfortunate, to put the cost into perspective, they amount to less that £1 per for every household across the borough once, which could have saved thousands of households and local businesses quite literally tens of thousands of pounds buying new vehicles that they didn’t want or need, and quite literally tens of thousands of Bromley households £4,000 a year annually.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor has been clear that while the decision to expand ULEZ was an incredibly difficult one, he could not stand by and do nothing while around 4,000 Londoners are dying prematurely each year due to air pollution, children are growing up with stunted lungs and thousands of people in our city are developing life-changing illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.”
The spokesperson said that nine out of ten cars seen driving in outer London are already compliant with the scheme.
They said the Mayor was continuing to call on the Government to provide additional funding to London to support those looking to switch to greener vehicles.
They added: “Sadiq is committed to the ULEZ expansion, but is always listening to the concerns of Londoners, which is why he has already made a number of changes to ensure more people can access support through his scrappage scheme.”
