A legal challenge led by rival councils against London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) around the capital has been authorised by the High Court.
Khan has announced plans to extend the ULEZ, which imposes a charge on drivers of vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards, to cover the entire city by 2023.
However, the expansion has faced fierce opposition from some local councils, which argue that it will disproportionately affect lower-income households and small businesses.
City Hall Conservatives, members of the London Assembly, wrote in a statement on Wednesday, “The High Court has now ruled there is sufficient evidence that Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ decision may have been unlawful.”
“The Mayor clearly does not have the legal grounds to proceed with his ULEZ tax plans and must now explain his actions to the court,” they added.
Councils Concerned Over Expansion
London councils Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon, and Surrey County Council announced in February that they would challenge the ULEZ expansion on the grounds that “relevant statutory requirements” were not complied with, expected compliance rates in outer London were not considered, and the proposed scrappage scheme was not consulted on.They have also raised concerns about thousands of cameras using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to detect entry being fitted across London without warning.
Transport for London (TfL) is running a £110 million scrappage scheme that offers a maximum of £2,000 for cars that don’t meet the standards. However, according to an analysis from Auto Trader in February, London households face a shortage of cheap used cars to avoid being hit by ULEZ fines.
Khan claims that each year 4,000 Londoners “die prematurely each year because of long-term exposure to air pollution, with the greatest number of deaths in outer London boroughs.”
A spokeswoman for the mayor told The Epoch Times by email that the judicial review was a “misguided legal challenge” and said that the “majority” of the grounds for review were refused.
“The mayor is pleased to see the court has refused permission for the majority of the grounds. We will continue to robustly defend his life-saving decision to expand the ULEZ and continue with preparations without delay,” she said.
“It is a shame that some local authorities have chosen to attempt this costly and misguided legal challenge instead of focusing on the health of those they represent,” she added.
“This is a health emergency and the mayor is not prepared to stand by and do nothing while Londoners are growing up with stunted lungs and are more at risk of heart disease, cancer, and dementia due to our toxic air,” she said.
ULEZ Standards
The ULEZ is an area in which vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £12.50 to drive or face fines. It covers 4 million people, around 44 percent of London’s population.Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone in 2015 when he was London mayor.
The scheme currently covers the areas within London’s North and South Circular roads. It is set to expand to the whole of Greater London from Aug. 29, 2023.
To avoid the ULEZ fee, diesel vehicles, which make up the vast majority of vans—must be Euro 6 standard, which generally covers those registered from 2016.
A delivery van driver or tradesperson entering the zone in an older van every working day will rack up more than £3,100 a year in charges.
Drivers who fail to pay face a £160 penalty each day, which is halved if paid within a fortnight.
Challenging the Science
Last month a report by environmental critic Ben Pile, a collaboration between the Together Declaration and Pile’s campaign group Climate Debate UK, challenged the science behind Khan’s claim that thousands of people will die from toxic air.The report says that neither the UK Health Security Agency nor the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants found evidence of a link between the air pollution scientific literature and the 4,000 deaths claim.
It also claimed historical data show radical improvements in air quality since the middle of the last century.
At the time, a spokesperson for the mayor challenged the claims and said that “rather than engaging in legitimate discussion and debate about this air quality policy, it’s disappointing to see some opponents trying to mislead the public by seeking to call into question the scientific evidence.”
