Watford leaders slam 'unfair and unjustified' ULEZ expansion

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is being swelled by the Mayor of London from August 29 to cover the whole of the capital, including Greater London.

Drivers who have a vehicle that does not comply with minimum emissions standards face paying a daily charge of £12.50 to drive within the ULEZ – and it does not matter whether you live in London or not.

Read more:

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• December rail strikes: How Watford trains will be disrupted

Despite this, the scrappage scheme which offers money to scrap or retrofit vehicles to ULEZ standards is not available to Herts residents.

Watford's Lib Dem mayor Peter Taylor and borough councillor Ian Stotesbury, who is responsible for transport, sent a letter to Sadiq Khan today (December 15) sharing locals’ concerns and requesting an opportunity to meet.

In the letter they said: “Good air quality is an issue which is important to us. However, the expansion of ULEZ so widely, so quickly, without the necessary support to mitigate the impacts is not something we can support.”

Read more: ULEZ expansion is 'unfair' as Tory MPs call for it to be scrapped

The pair called for the scrappage scheme to be extended, and called for rezoning to move Watford into London Transport Zone 6, "so that residents benefit from cheaper fares".

They added it is “wrong and unfair” that Watford residents who pay into TfL services to go to work do not see the same benefits as Londoners.

Watford's Tory MP Dean Russell said: “My priority, and that of my colleagues, is to stop the Labour Mayor of London from imposing his unfair and unjustified border tax on the people of Hertfordshire.”

The area (outermost) covered by the expansion (Image: TfL)

He slammed Sadiq Khan for “harming people who cannot hold him to account at the ballot box” and called for the expansion to be scrapped altogether.

The MP claimed any support scheme for outside London would likely be funded by central government, therefore those outside London would still be paying for the Mr Khan's scheme.

Watford's Labour parliamentary candidate, Matt Turmaine, said: "It is my understanding that the vast majority of people will be unaffected by the change and I urge them to check their vehicles on the TfL site."

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