The latest plans from the Mayor to clean up our air are still letting down people in outer London, says Caroline Russell AM.
The Mayor has opened a consultation today on expanding the ULEZ – his clean air zone – up to the north and south circular roads from 2021. Meaning the dirtiest vehicles will have to pay a charge to drive around the city in this zone.
Caroline’s report ‘Left Out Londoners’ showed that this measure doesn’t go far enough as the Mayor’s plans will only reduce deadly pollution by 0.3 per cent for people living in outer London by 2019 – and leaves people in outer boroughs still choking in traffic fumes with no respite in sight. [1]
Caroline Russell says:
“All Londoners need to be able to trust the air they breathe not just those living in the centre.
“The Mayor’s proposals don’t go far enough. It’s not okay to kick this important health-protecting measure into the next Mayoral term, that’s simply too late.
“He is too focused on central London and many Londoners are left out. His ULEZ should be London-wide for all vehicles and he needs to bring it in by 2020.“It’s not fair that people all over London are suffering from the effects of our awful air pollution and those living in outer London are having to wait so long for any help.
“The Mayor should be aiming for the whole of London to achieve full compliance with legal air pollution limits for Nitrogen Dioxide by 2020. I urge all Londoners concerned about air pollution to respond to the consultation and tell the Mayor we need a London-wide ULEZ for all vehicles.”
The Mayor’s consultation on the next stage of his ULEZ opens today. The proposals also include expanding the ULEZ London-wide for buses, coaches and lorries from October 2020. [2]
Notes to editors
[1] Left out Londoners, Caroline Russell AM, Jun 2017 https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/left_out_londoners_june_2017.pdf
[2] Mayor’s consultation on expanding the ULEZ
https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/environment/air-quality-consultation-phase-3b/?cid=airquality-consultation