Kingston Council’s leader is urging the Mayor of London to pause the ULEZ rollout.

Sadiq Khan was given the go ahead to expand the £12.50 daily charge for the most polluting vehicles to the whole of London at the end of August by the High Court last Friday.

Leader of Kingston Council, Andreas Kirsch, says the authority will continue fighting for residents and businesses across the borough.

He’s released a statement.

“We urge the Mayor to pause and listen to the concerns of ordinary Londoners who are already being hammered by the cost of living crisis.

“While we support efforts to reduce air pollution, the cost should not fall unfairly on those less able to pay. I wrote to the Mayor in January urging him to delay the rollout of the scheme, improve the scrappage scheme and commit to investing in public transport in Kingston. We chose to try and engage with him, rather than joining the legal challenge and risk wasting taxpayers’ money.

“When ULEZ was started in 2020 in central London, residents were given a three year ‘sunset period’, meaning they did not need to comply with the new emissions standards until 2023. The Mayor should consider something similar, to allow residents and small businesses a reasonable amount of time to trade in their non-compliant cars and vans.

“While we’re pleased the Mayor followed our calls across London to extend the scrappage scheme, he could do more. Kingston Council will continue to push Transport for London to get better public transport and for more funding to make cycling feel safer.

“We’ll continue to fight for the rights of residents and businesses in our borough – particularly those small firms who rely on a car or van for their livelihoods and face being forced out of business by these crippling charges.”

Almost 700,000 cars in London will not be Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) compliant when the scheme expands, according to analysis by RAC.

The figure rises to more than 850,000 when including other non-compliant vehicles as well as cars, RAC said.

ULEZ emissions standards are based on Euro standards, regulations that are imposed on new cars.

They are numbered and different categories of vehicles need to meet different standards.

To meet ULEZ emissions standards, motorbikes and mopeds must meet Euro 3, petrol cars Euro 4 and diesel cars Euro 6.

Because the Euro standards were made mandatory when they were brought in, most petrol cars less than 16 years old or diesel cars less than 6 years old already meet the emissions standards.

You can check whether your car complies on the TfL website.