ULEZ extension: Londoners can have say on Sadiq Khan’s plans to expand emission zone to whole of London

Londoners can have their say on plans to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the whole of the capital.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is proposing to extend the scheme’s boundary from the North and South Circular Roads to the whole of Greater London from August 29 next year.

If the plans go ahead, the most polluting vehicles entering the ULEZ would have to pay a £12.50 daily charge.

And Londoners can now have their say on Mr Khan’s plans, with a consultation which is open until July 29.

The expansion of the ULEZ is one of the mayor’s many schemes which he says will tackle the capital’s toxic air crisis, the climate emergency and traffic congestion.

To date, the ULEZ in central London has helped halve lethal nitrogen dioxide by the roadside, the mayor’s office said.

Filthy air factored in about 4,000 premature deaths in 2019 - the greatest number in outer London.

Bromley, Barnet, Havering and Croydon were the boroughs with the highest number of early deaths, and it is estimated harmful emissions could cost the NHS and social care £10.4bn over the next 30 years if no further action is taken.

Pollution activist, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, whose nine-year-old daughter Ella was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed on her death certificate in 2013, said the issue was a “public health emergency”.

She said: “Fewer and cleaner cars on the road is good for communities, the high street and - crucially - our health.

“In the short time since ULEZ was expanded, Londoners have chosen to leave their cars behind or trade them in for cleaner models.

“Now it’s time to extend ULEZ onto the South Circular, where children are still walking along just to get to school, and beyond.

“Illegal levels of air pollution on the South Circular caused my daughter Ella’s deadly asthma nine years ago, expanding ULEZ London-wide can help prevent future deaths like Ella’s.”

City Hall estimates that the number of cars not meeting the tough ULEZ standards each day in outer London would fall from 160,000 to 46,000 and the number of vans from 42,000 to 26,000.

“The air Londoners breathe is so toxic it stunts children’s lungs, exacerbates chronic illness and contributes to thousands of premature deaths each year,” said Mr Khan.

“More than half of the 500,000 Londoners with asthma live in outer London and all areas of London still breach safe levels of pollution.

“That’s why my proposals for expanding the Ultra -Low Emission Zone are the right thing to do.

“Air pollution is not just a central London issue and Londoners in the outer boroughs should be able to enjoy the clean air benefits the ULEZ brings.

“We’re keen to hear from all Londoners, so please share your views on my plans to build a better London for everyone – a safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners.”

On ULEZ, the GLA Conservatives said: “It’s a tax on Londoners’ livelihoods, public services and charities.

“It will hammer small businesses which rely on their vans, NHS staff and care workers who drive because of shift work, and charities such as faith groups and disability clubs that use minibuses.

“We’ve campaigned to stop Khan’s ULEZ charge, but he’s committed to it going ahead.

“The mayor fails to understand that many Londoners have no choice but to drive in London.

“And that many can’t afford his ULEZ charge - or to buy a new vehicle, especially during a pandemic.”

The consultation closes on July 29 at 11.59pm. You can take part here.