Consultation runs until 28th February
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Wandsworth residents are being urged to have their say on the Mayor of London’s plans to expand the capital’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to the South Circular.
Extending the scheme to cover the South Circular (A205) would cut Wandsworth in half meaning that any resident or business driving inside the zone would be required to meet the latest exhaust emission standards or pay a daily charge.
The Mayor wants to make the change in 2021 meaning it would affect anyone driving a car, van or motorcycle within a zone whose southernmost boundary was marked by the Upper Richmond Road, Wandsworth High Street, East Hill, Wandsworth Common Northside, Battersea Rise, The Avenue Clapham Common West Side and Clapham Common Southside.
Anyone driving north of these roads would need to comply with the new ULEZ regulations. The northern boundary of the ULEZ would be the North Circular Road.
The Mayor also wants to tighten the rules of the existing London-wide Low Emission Zone from 2020, which affects heavy vehicles – buses, coaches and HGVs and other heavy specialist vehicles.
To take part in the online consultation people are being urged to visit the TfL website. The closing date for comments is February 28.
The council’s environment and transport spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook said: “It’s important that people take part in this consultation and make sure their voices are heard as these proposals could have quite far reaching consequences for local residents and businesses.
“We are broadly supportive of expanding the ULEZ zone as it is clear that London’s air quality needs to improve which is why we ourselves have done so much to help address this issue locally, with a wide range of local initiatives.
“However we are concerned about how local communities living close to the ULEZ border will be affected and we need to see concrete ideas from the Mayor on how their interests will be protected.
“The new scheme boundary will divide Wandsworth in two and could cause adverse effects on traffic levels, pollution, parking pressures and motoring costs for households and businesses on either side of the new boundary.
“Our residents and businesses need to see clear mitigation plans to stop rat running and also be told how the money raised through the new tariffs will be used to support them adapt their transport habits. We want assurances this money will be used to prevent hardship caused by these new rules, not prop up other mayoral funding priorities.
“We have also asked for detailed traffic modelling to show the effects on different parts of the borough, as well as modelling based on alternative scheme boundaries. This is a major change and we need to know if the South and North Circular are the best places for the new border.”
January 6, 2018