ULEZ expansion: London mayor gives councils Thursday deadline

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has given Conservative councils until Thursday to sign a legal agreement allowing work to get under way to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

The move comes as Transport for London (TfL) plans to expand the ULEZ scheme to all of the capital from August but some councils are unhappy with the move.

If the councils refuse, Mr Khan's officials say they have the powers to go ahead anyway with the installation of ULEZ signs and cameras on the boroughs' roads.

Four Tory councils said they would not sign the agreement and have instead launched the first step of their legal action.

The local authorities of Bexley, Bromley, Hillingdon and Harrow said they wouldn't sign the official Section 8 agreement with TfL and have served City Hall with official notice - via a pre-action protocol letter - that they intend to challenge the London-wide zone in the courts.

TfL have written to the boroughs saying they have the legal powers to over-ride them but would prefer to have their consent.

Signing the agreement would allow the councils a say over the design and positioning of new cameras and signs, TfL said.

With or without agreement, engineers will be sent in this month to begin installing them so that the zone is ready to come into force on 29 August.

In a letter to the chief executive of each of the four outer London councils, TfL asked each council to formally agree and sign up by Thursday.

The letter says the mayor has an "overwhelming preference" to work together, which would enable the boroughs to "engage with TfL and influence the final works, their locations and designs".

It goes on to say that TfL has "direct installation powers", entitling them to go ahead with or without the boroughs' support.

"The Mayor and TfL consider them to be reserve powers to be used only after attempts to resolve matters have proved unsuccessful," the letter, written by a senior TfL official, says.

"However, the guidance is explicit that TfL may appropriately use them to ensure that the works (or enough of them) are completed sufficiently in advance of the 29 August 2023 scheme commencement date."

Meanwhile, details have emerged of how the Tory councils intend to challenge the mayor in the courts.

In their pre-action protocol letter to the mayor and TfL, they cited four grounds for deeming the scheme "unlawful".

They said the mayor exceeded his powers by treating the new zone as a "variation" of the existing ULEZ rather than presenting and consulting on a fresh stand-alone plan.

They are challenging City Hall's estimates of how many people will be affected, along with financial analysis including the claim the new zone will raise £200m in its first year.

The councils also claimed it was unlawful to exclude people living outside the capital - but driving inside - from the scrappage scheme that compensates people for getting rid of their polluting vehicles.

In its response to the boroughs' legal letter, TfL rejected all of the claims, insisting the decision to go ahead was "properly reasoned and rational, and the consultation was fair, with all responses conscientiously considered".

Many of the arguments presented were really disagreements with the conclusions the mayor and TfL reached or with their assessments of various matters, TfL said.

The letter continues: "It is for the mayor as a democratically accountable decision-maker, with assistance and analysis from TfL, an expert decision-maker, to decide on the merits.

"Political disputes between London boroughs and the Greater London Authority about air pollution in London are not appropriately decided by the courts."

TfL told the four Tory councils that signing the Section 8 agreement would be "without prejudice' to their legal action.

In other words, it wouldn't affect the councils' position in any future judicial review.

And if signs and cameras were installed, but the councils were successful in their legal action, TfL would pay for their removal.

"We remain open and committed to discussing with you any genuine concerns you have about the consenting of the above Works and their implementation," TfL said.

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