Essex Council should create "own scrappage scheme" - Ulez expansion

Sadiq Khan has suggested Essex - and other counties that border Greater London - create their own scrappage schemes to help people outside the capital cope financially with the soon-to-expand Ultra low emission zone (Ulez).

The mayor announced earlier this week hat he is opening up Transport for London’s (TfL) Ulez scrappage scheme to every Londoner who has a non-compliant vehicle – along with the addition of £50m to the fund.

This will enable Londoners to scrap their vehicles in exchange for grants to the value of £2000 for cars being destroyed, and £1000 for motorbikes.

But no support was announced for people who live just outside London, even if they regularly come into the capital by car for work, leisure or other appointments.

In a message to the county councils bordering London, Mr Khan said: “You should be supporting your residents like Merton Council and others have been doing.”

Merton – a Labour-run borough in south-west London – announced this week that it is launching its own £1m scrappage scheme, with residents soon able to apply for £1000 grants, regardless of whether they’ve also applied to TfL’s scheme.

The Home Counties surrounding London have taken a mostly hostile approach to the Ulez’s upcoming expansion – only one of the seven councils bordering the capital has granted permission for City Hall to erect Ulez signs warning motorists they are entering the zone.

The six councils refusing to erect the signage are all Conservative-run.

Among them, Surrey County Council, last month failed in a High Court case to have the Ulez expansion declared unlawful – as part of a challenge it had launched alongside the Tory-run London boroughs of Bromley, Bexley, Harrow and Hillingdon.

The mayor said: “One of the things I’m disappointed by, is rather than their council supporting them with a scrappage scheme, or lobbying the Government for funding, they the bordering ouncils would rather spend money on court fees and lawyers.”

“More than a million pounds was wasted on court fees and lawyers – imagine how many vehicles could have been scrapped, how many residents could have been supported.

“What I’d say to those county councils outside London is two things – one is, you should be supporting your residents like Merton Council and others have been doing.

“But secondly – the Government is your government, they’re from your party. Why don’t you join me on a cross-party basis to lobby this government for more scrappage funding?”

Concerns of bordering county councils

Matt Furniss, on Surrey County Council's transport committee said:

“Whilst the extended scrappage scheme looks to be a step in the right direction, this will have no impact on those outside of London. Combined with the recent decision to withdraw the day travelcard, it is now increasingly difficult for those outside of London to travel in and out at a fair price.

While Roger Gough, leader of Kent County Council, said: “This announcement of a wider London scrappage scheme reinforces our concern that mitigations are available to London residents but not Kent and other around London residents who will be hit by Ulez – and so TfL will be funded by charges on our residents…

“By expanding Ulez without the same mitigations for Kent people, charities and businesses afforded to those in the capital, the mayor will place an additional burden on already stretched households during a cost-of-living crisis."

The Ulez requires drivers of non-compliant vehicles to pay a £12.50 daily charge, in order to drive within the zone.

It currently covers the area within the North and South Circular Roads, but is expanding on August 29 to cover the whole of Greater London.

According to TfL, nine out of ten cars seen driving on average in outer London are compliant with the Ulez emission rules.

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