Five Conservative councils launch legal action over ULEZ expansion

The London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, along with Surrey County Council, are mounting a legal challenge against the proposed expansion of the London Ultra Low Emission Zone in August on the basis that the scheme is unlawful.

The coalition will challenge the expansion in the High Court on five grounds:

• Failure to comply with relevant statutory requirements
• Unlawful failure to consider expected compliance rates in outer London
• The proposed scrappage scheme was not consulted upon
• Failure to carry out any cost benefit analysis
• Inadequate consultation and/or apparent predetermination arising from the conduct of the consultation

The ULEZ will border Surrey rather than encroach on it but the leader of the council Tim Oliver says: ‘We are dismayed at the lack of discussion or consideration given to these proposals by the Mayor of London. The impact on many Surrey residents and businesses will be significant and we will not stand by and watch that happen with no mitigations offered from the Mayor.’

Cllr Baroness O’Neill of Bexley, Leader of the London Borough of Bexley, said: ‘We have been clear from the start that we believe air quality is important but that ULEZ is the wrong solution. By wanting to expand ULEZ to outer London boroughs it appears that the Mayor’s message is you can pollute as long as you can afford the £12.50.

‘We believe he should give the monies that he has allocated to ULEZ to the boroughs who actually understand outer London and the transport connectivity problems our residents face to come up with innovative solutions that will deliver better, more practical results.’

Cllr Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council, said: ‘We have been sounding the alarm about Mayor Khan’s attempted tax raid on the outer ‘London’ suburbs for many months now. In Bromley, this socially regressive tax directly threatens jobs, the viability and availability of small businesses, and ..  significant damage to vital care networks, as well as creating a completely avoidable spike in the cost of living locally, at a time when some households are already struggling to make ends meet.

‘To attempt to do all of this under cover of a false health scare over air quality, when the Mayor’s own research confirms that Bromley has the second cleanest air in London, also, that extending ULEZ to the boundaries of the M25 will make no discernible difference to air quality locally, is frankly unforgivable.’

Last week a report concluded that the existing ULEZ was having a significant impact on air quality.