Westminster Council confirms support for expansion of ULEZ

Plans to extend the UK capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone to cover all of Greater London now have the backing of the city’s most prominent political borough.

Westminster City Council has confirmed it supports the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the whole of Greater London. The scheme currently includes a quarter of the metropolis, impacting 4m people, and is the largest of its kind in Europe. 

The borough of Westminster has already taken significant steps to improving air quality in the area, reducing congestion and cleaning up vehicle emissions. Over 1,000 charging points have been installed, more than any other London council, with plans to increase this to 1,500 by late-2022.

Charging provision for freight is also set to grow, with ‘smartcharging’ – whereby residents can charge from lamp column points at reduced prices overnight – set to launch in September. Meanwhile, the Paddington Basin is also being considered for projects to improve air quality along the canal, with boat owners being consulted on developing an eco-mooring zone.

‘Westminster has some of the highest carbon emissions and poorest air quality of any local authority and urgent steps need to be taken if we want to improve. To create a cleaner air environment, we fully support the proposals set out in the TfL consultation,’ said Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality at Westminster City Council.

‘To supplement these proposals, we want to encourage people coming into our city to participate in active travel by walking and cycling more and using public transport, which is why we have opposed the proposed recent bus cuts,’ he added. ‘We continue to deliver a range of walking and cycling schemes, including a recent decision to deliver a Brompton bike hire scheme proposed at sites near some of our busiest rail stations like Paddington, and also increasing the number of cycle storage units.’

In June, Westminster City Council launched a new online air quality portal. 

Image credit: Hugo Sousa