Five Conservative councils have joined together to launch a judicial review into London mayor Sadiq Khan’s plans to expand the £12.50 ultra-low-emission zone (ULEZ) to outer boroughs. Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, together with Surrey County Council, issued a joint statement announcing legal action over the Labour mayor’s plan. Drivers of vehicles that do not meet minimum emissions standards are charged a £12.50 daily fee for entering the zone.
The ULEZ is currently limited to the area within London’s north and south circular roads but is due to be extended to cover the whole of the capital from 29 August when it will expand to border areas of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.
Mr Khan has dismissed any opposition as a “vocal minority” and spoke of wanting to be on the “right side of history” over measures to curb air pollution and traffic congestion. But former Tory mayor Boris Johnson has described the plans as a “mad lefty tax” and accused Mr Khan of “bankrupting” Transport for London (TfL).
The five councils said they will challenge the ULEZ expansion in the High Court on the grounds that “relevant statutory requirements” were not complied with, expected compliance rates in outer London were not considered, and the proposed scrappage scheme was not consulted on. They will also claim the overall consultation process was not properly conducted and there was a failure to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the plan.
Leader of Hillingdon Council Ian Edwards said: “ULEZ is the wrong solution in outer London as it will have negligible or nil impact on air quality but will cause significant social and economic harm to our residents. We believe Sadiq Khan’s decision to impose this scheme on outer London boroughs is unlawful.”
His counterpart at Surrey County Council, Tim Oliver, said: “We are committed to delivering a greener future, but it must be done in a practical and sustainable way. 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.”
Conservatives in London previously claimed City Hall officials “manipulated” the results of TfL consultation by excluding some “campaign responses”, which lowered the level of opposition in the final count from 62 per cent to 59 per cent.
The mayor’s plans have also encountered opposition from the biggest trade union, Unite, which has 20,000 members based at Heathrow airport and living in Hillingdon and Hounslow. “We want the mayor to delay ULEZ expansion and improve mitigation, like the scrappage scheme,” said spokesperson Joe McGowan. “The outcome of this is profoundly anti-worker. We expect the party of the worker to stand by working people.”
Business group Logistics UK has also opposed the plans. Denise Beedell, senior policy manager, said small firms that rely on second-hand vehicles “have only limited options for purchasing a Euro 6 vehicle, and delays on the delivery of electric vehicles are also preventing operators from switching their fleets at this point.”
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “We will be defending any challenge to this vital scheme. Around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely every year due to air pollution. The mayor is determined to protect the lives of Londoners who are growing up with stunted lungs and more at risk of heart disease, cancer and dementia due to our toxic air. The mayor urges the councils involved to abandon this costly and unnecessary legal challenge and instead focus on the health of those they represent.”
