Leader of Conservative-run Bromley Council, Colin Smith, has vowed to keep up the fight against the Labour Mayor of London’s plans to extend the so-called Ultra Low Emission Zone to the borough at the end of August.
In less than a month the Mayor of London is set to extend the zone, which sees drivers of non-complaint vehicles charged £12.50 a day to use their vehicles. This follows a consultation last year in which over 60% of responders opposed the plans. Bromley was one of five Councils to challenge the decision to extend the zone at the High Court. Sadly, the decision found against Bromley Council and it's partners.
Following the Courts decision, Councillor Colin Smith, pledged to keep fighting the expansion.
Colin said:
"We are very clear that Mayor Khan’s scheme has very little to do with air quality, citing a Transport for London (TfL) report produced for the Mayor which concluded that the expansion would have a “negligible” impact in air quality. This leads us to the firm conclusion that the sole purpose of his decision to extend the zone, is nothing other than a flagrant tax grab across Outer London and a direct attack on our way of life, ahead of introducing Road Price Charging for all (‘Green’ and ‘Hybrid’ vehicles included) if he is successfully re-elected next May.
Bromley’s air is already cleaner than every single Borough within Mayor Khan’s existing ULEZ scheme and infinitely cleaner that the disgustingly fetid air which can be found throughout his own tube network, so if scheme was really about Health, as he claims, by what earthly logic would you start in the cleanest zone first, rather than putting your own house in order first !?
The courts decision cannot be disguised as anything other than bitter disappointment for motorists in general, traders who will now have to consider ceasing business and laying off staff, those who will now have to change jobs and, most desperately of all, people who will no longer be able to support vital care networks for vulnerable people across the whole of outer London in particular.
“To all of them as well as the legion of families who will now have to trade in perfectly good cars at significant cost they can’t really afford, for a newer vehicle they don’t want or need, I can only say sorry. We’ve tried our very hardest to protect you but ultimately, today’s judgement does mean that the Mayor has taken another step closer to getting his way.
“However, do please be assured that this is not the end of the matter and this battle will continue. To draw a positive from this setback, we have been extremely successful in bringing the Mayor’s intentions both around ULEZ, as well as Road Price Charging which is set to follow, to every front page and living room across the country in recent weeks, and what has become increasingly clear, is that the more that people see and learn of it, the less they like it.
“We will take that energy and build on it over coming weeks and it may well be that we will now need to turn to Parliament for a solution immediately upon their return from their Summer Recess at the beginning of September.”
