London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced a “huge expansion” of his ULEZ scrappage scheme, with an extra £50million ahead of the extension of the zone later this month – meaning every Londoner with a non-compliant car can receive £2,000 towards a replacement.
Coming to a road near you soon: ULEZ is extended to outer London on Aug 29
The Tory Government, which made the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to most of outer London, including Croydon, one of the conditions of post-covid funding for the capital’s transport, has still to provide a penny towards London’s scrappage scheme.
Following the Mayor’s announcement, the scrappage scheme will now be open to all Londoners with non-compliant cars, who will be able to claim up to £2,000.
ULEZ currently covers the area between the South Circular and North Circular. Vehicles that enter the zone that do not meet emissions standards are subject to a £12.50 daily charge. Official figures suggest around 90per cent of vehicles in outer London are already ULEZ compliant.
Today, Mayor Khan said the scrappage scheme will become more generous in several different ways – some of which will take effect immediately.
Committed to cleaner air: London Mayor Sadiq Khan
The money for the scheme, which comes from City Hall reserves, is in addition to the £110million originally allocated to scrappage costs.
Figures to the end of June this year showed that drivers in Croydon (£2.32million), Bromley (£1.99million) and Sutton (£1.98million) were among those to have claimed most in scrappage payments under the ULEZ scheme, with only Hillingdon drivers, with £2.72million, claiming more.
The scrappage scheme provides drivers with grants to take the most polluting vehicles off the road. Until now, it has only been open to Londoners in receipt of certain benefits, as well as businesses with fewer than 50 employees, or charities registered in the capital.
Leonie Cooper, London Assembly Labour’s environment spokesperson, welcomed the move. “It demonstrates that the Mayor has listened to Londoners,” Cooper said.
From August 21, every Londoner who does not own a ULEZ-compliant vehicle is eligible for up to £2,000 scrappage funding. Businesses and charities can now also claim more support.
Cooper said, “The Mayor has been clear that the decision to expand the ULEZ to outer London is necessary to improve the health of Londoners. Taking the most polluting vehicles off the road will make a real difference to cleaning up the capital’s air – even more Londoners will feel that benefit.”
The changes to the scheme are being made in two stages, with the first stage coming into force with immediate effect:
- Grants awarded to small businesses and charities with a non-compliant van will increase from £5,000 to £7,000
- Grants for wheelchair accessible vehicles will increase from £5,000 to £10,000
- Grants for scrapping minibuses will increase from £7,000 to £9,000
- Grants to replace a non-compliant van with an electric van will increase from £7,500 to £9,500
- Grants to replace a non-compliant minibus with an electric minibus will increase from £9,500 to £11,500
- Retrofit grants will increase from £5,000 to £6,000, typically enough to cover the whole cost of retrofitting
Then, from Monday, August 21:
- Every Londoner with a ULEZ non-compliant car will be eligible for a £2,000 grant (£1,000 for a motorcycle), or a higher value package of up to two bus and tram passes plus a lower grant (no change to the payment level)
- Small businesses and sole traders will be able to scrap as many as three vans (up from one)
By July 23, 10,562 applications had been made to the scrappage scheme. Of the original £110million available, only £38.5million had been allocated.
Mayor Khan said today that the expansion of ULEZ is “a decision I remain committed to seeing through”.
Bigger boundaries: how ULEZ will be extended this month
He said, “I’m not prepared to step back, delay or water down vital green policies like ULEZ, which will not only save lives and protect children’s lungs by cleaning up our polluted air, but help us to fight the climate crisis.
“I have continued to listen to the concerns of Londoners and today I can announce a huge expansion to the scrappage scheme that means that all Londoners with ULEZ non–compliant cars will now be able to get financial support to switch to greener, less polluting vehicles.”
Read more: Tory councils wasted £1m on High Court challenge to ULEZ
Read more: Driven to distraction, pro-car Tories are bad for your health
Read more: Time to take a walk and witness the damage we’re all causing
Read more: The Mayor of London’s guide to ULEZ
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