London boroughs that resisted the expansion of the ULEZ ultra low emissions scheme have enjoyed the greatest fall in a dangerous air pollutant since it was brought in, a review has found.
Sutton, Croydon and Merton and Bromley and Harrow all opposed Labour mayor Sir Sadiq Khan‘s plan to expand the ULEZ to all London boroughs in August 2023.
The City Hall study, which was reviewed by independent experts, analysed the impact of the expanded ULEZ over its first year.
It found levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which drives asthma and lung cancer, were 15% lower across all three boroughs than they would have been had they not been added to the scheme.
NOx levels from cars and vans across the whole of outer London were estimated to be 14% lower.
The policy, which charges drivers £12.50 for driving polluting, non-compliant vehicles, has seen the number of such cars in London fell by nearly 100,000 on an average day. Anyone who fails to pay the charge is fined.
Drivers have had to pay more than £400m in these fines since the scheme expanded, analysis of TfL figures by the PA news agency found.
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The Tory government at the time branded it “Labour’s war on motorists”, saying it would oblige drivers to buy new cars or cough up for the fees.
The policy has “not been anti-car, it’s been anti-poison,” Sir Sadiq told Sky News’s Anna Jones today.
“The point is… by driving a pollution vehicle you yourself are breathing in poison, your kids in the back are breathing in poison.”
He added: “No level of air pollution is safe. It can lead to thousands of premature deaths and a whole host of health issues, from asthma to cancer, heart disease, strokes and dementia.”
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In London, more than 3,500 premature deaths per year were driven by toxic air, according to Imperial College London.
Overall, since the scheme first launched in 2019, levels of another toxic gas NO2 have decreased by 27% across the entire capital.
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The report also concluded ULEZ expansion has had “no negative impact” on footfall or spending in shops or leisure destinations in any part of London, while there has been “no notable change in average traffic flow”.
But Colin Smith, leader of Bromley Council, criticised the “one size fits all lunacy” approach of applying the policy across London.
He said it had forced people to switch jobs, “destroyed care networks” and created a “huge financial expense for people and businesses having to buy new vehicles they didn’t want or need”.
The Mayor said: “If we were speaking 60 years ago, there’d be discussion, a debate about whether tobacco was dangerous and whether we should reduce smoking. I’m hoping now people know the science is quite clear: air pollution kills.”
