Mayor of London plans to extend and bring forward Ultra Low Emission Zones

The capital’s clean air plans include bringing forward the Ultra-Low Emission Zone one year earlier in 2019 and adding a surcharge on the most polluting vehicles.

With around 9,500 Londoners dying from long-term exposure to air pollution every year and latest research revealing over 443 schools in the capital are in areas exceeding safe legal pollution levels, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has put forward his plans to clean up the capital’s air for consultation.

Plans include implementing a £10 Emissions Surcharge (dubbed the ‘T-charge’) on the most polluting vehicles entering central London from 2017.  The charge would apply to all vehicles with pre-Euro 4 emission standards and will cost an extra £10 per day on top of the existing Congestion Charge.

Sadiq Khan has also announced plans to introduce the central London Ultra-Low Emission Zone one year earlier in 2019, as well as extend the area to beyond central London from 2020: for motorcycles, cars and vans, to the North and South Circular; and for lorries, buses and coaches London-wide.

There will be a detailed proposal for a national diesel scrappage scheme for Government to implement, and he intends to bring forward the requirement for all double–deck buses to be ULEZ-compliant in central London from 2020 to 2019.

Plans are also being drawn up to implement clean bus corridors – tackling the worst pollution hotspots by delivering cleaner buses on the dirtiest routes

The public have until Friday 29th July 2016 to feed back on the first round of the consultation, further more detailed consultation will take place later this year and some measures could be implemented as early as 2017.

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