Mother of first child to die of air pollution speaks as ULEZ expands
Ella Roberta died in 2013 with air pollution as a listed cause
Last updated 25th Oct 2021
The mother of a child who died due to air pollution has spoken to us following the extension of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which is enforced from today.
Ella Roberta became the first person to officially have air pollution registered as their cause of death in the UK, following an inquest to her death in 2013.
The nine-year-old lived near South Circular Road in London and suffered from a rare and life threatening case of asthma.
Ella Roberta's mother, Rosamund, told Greatest Hits Radio: "Whenever there was a spike in air pollution, that's when she was going into hospital, we didn't know at the time that's what was making it worse, so she had loads of attacks.
"I just worried constantly, constantly, and I think when she went into ICU, all you can do is pray."
Ella had been hospitalized dozens of times for severe asthma attacks, and her condition disabled her from an early age.
Rosamund co-founded The Ella Roberta Family Foundation to help other children suffering from asthma that live in South East London, as well as enhancing research and education on asthma.
Currently in London there are record high levels of air pollution but 872 schools are in areas which breach the EU recommended levels.
Asthma in London continues to increase, in a class of 30 at least 3 children will have a diagnosis of asthma, and in the UK a child is admitted to hospital every 20 minutes because of an asthma attack.
Ella lived near the South Circular Road in London, an area that the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is expanding to.
How much is the Ultra Low Emission Zone expanding?
From today (25th October), the existing Ultra Low Emission Zone will expand to create a larger district comprising of the area within the North and South Circular roads.
The new boundary will include:
- South West London (including Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, and Wandsworth)
- West London (including Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kensington, and Chelsea)
- North (including Barnet, Enfield, Hackney and Haringey)
- South East (including Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham)
- North East (including Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest)
What does this expansion mean for me?
The new changes mean that cars, motorcycles, specialist vehicles, and minibuses will either need to meet the ULEZ emission standards or pay a £12.50 daily charge when driving within the expanded zone.
Despite these changes, new research from used car marketplace, Motorway, suggests that only 35% of motorists in and around London know how to check if their vehicle will be charged.
As the UK plans to become more green, there has been a surge in interest for electric vehicles, with two thirds of motorists in and around London likely to buy an electric vehicle in light of the expansion.
This is despite the fact 29% are concerned that they would not be able to charge the vehicle at home, while 28% are worried that their freedom will be limited when waiting for the car to charge.
Why extend?
It is all part of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's plan to clean up London's air.
The mayor's transport strategy is to try to achieve 80% of trips across London through walking, cycling and mass transport by 2040.
The original ULEZ in central London saw the number of cleaner vehicles increase from 39% in 2017 to 80%.
The scheme is expected to make £1.9m a day but there are huge set-up costs of between £90m and £139m.
It seems this type of emission-based system is here to stay, as many other cities in the UK are planning similar emissions zones.