London’s ULEZ expansion plan would ‘push polluting traffic into Surrey borough’

A proposed expansion of London’s low emission zone could push the most polluting traffic across the border into Spelthorne, the borough council fears. The scheme is there to clean up London’s air but officers suspect high emission vehicles will make detours around Spelthorne’s roads to avoid the charges, leading to more air pollution in the borough. At the moment none of Hillingdon and barely any of Hounslow or Richmond are included in the zone but, under the new proposal, it would extend to essentially cover all of these London boroughs – right up to the Surrey border.

Any vehicle not complying with minimum nitrogen dioxide emissions standards has to pay GBP12.50 per day to drive inside the zone. It would mean that Surrey residents with non-compliant vehicles working at Heathrow Airport, for example, would have to pay GBP12.50 every day to get to work. Councillor Ian Beardsmore (Independent, Sunbury Common) said at Spelthorne Borough Council’s environment committee meeting on Tuesday (July 5): “There’s a democratic issue here – none of us voted for the Mayor of London, yet he’s going to bring in a policy that will materially affect, quite seriously, what we do with no democratic mandate to do it.

Read more: London Ultra Low Emission Zone to border Surrey as Sadiq Khan announces expansion plans “It’s a great idea but it’s so badly bodged in the way it’s put together. There are times when it’s easier for me to come home through London.” He said he thought there should be an exemption given to adjoining authorities – or they should be given Oyster card prices in return.

Transport for London (TfL) is consulting on extending the ultra low emission zone’s (ULEZ) boundary from August 2023, moving from all areas within the North and South Circular Roads, to the whole of Greater London. In its response to the TfL, Spelthorne Borough Council points out the “possibility of overspill of now non-compliant vehicles from greater London to Spelthorne and Surrey in attempts to avoid the ULEZ zone” and the resulting “potential for negative respiratory health problems within Spelthorne”. The annual average concentration of nitrogen dioxide at the roadside at Sunbury Cross before the pandemic was 51.1 ug/m3, exceeding the national air quality objective of 40ug/m3.

Councillor Sinead Mooney (Con, Staines South) said she thought people headed for London would park at Sunbury Cross before the zone starts. The council also noted potential problems for low-paid residents who work in London and may not be able to afford to replace their car: “There is a large reliance on the low skilled, low paid roles within Heathrow Airport for many residents in the north of Spelthorne. “Access to Heathrow by public transport is very poor, especially for shift workers and they rely on driving to access their work.

This will put a huge strain on the workforce.”

It also said an expanded zone would threaten Spelthorne businesses “who have a large customer base within the West London area and rely economically on this revenue”, who will have no choice but to “either replace their business base or replace their vehicles” and “many will be forced to close.” Much of the A316 which connects Sunbury-on-Thames to London will be included in the ULEZ, almost as far as Sunbury Cross Roundabout.

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