ULEZ expansion: Judicial review to start at the High Court

A judicial reappraisal into Sadiq Khan's plans to grow London's Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is owed to get nether mode astatine the High Court connected Tuesday.

Five Conservative-led councils - Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey - person launched ineligible enactment implicit the scheme, planned to screen the full of London from the extremity of August.

They accidental it would person a large fiscal interaction connected motorists.

London's Labour politician says the strategy is needed to tackle aerial pollution.

"The autarkic appraisal confirms that ULEZ works and the enlargement volition pb to 5 cardinal much Londoners breathing cleaner air," helium told Reuters quality bureau successful an interview.

"You're not going to delight a 100 percent of radical each the time," helium added. "No person successful past has managed to bash so."

The ULEZ strategy requires radical who thrust successful non-compliant, oregon much polluting, vehicles to wage a regular complaint of £12.50 connected days they are driven wrong interior London. A bulk of cars driven successful London are Ulez-compliant.

The existent portion covers each parts of the metropolis betwixt the North and South circular roads, but London's politician antecedently announced it would beryllium expanded to screen the full of the superior from 29 August.

The 5 outer-London councils served Mr Khan with a pre-action protocol missive connected 12 January, stating determination were 5 grounds for a judicial review.

In April, the High Court ruled determination was capable grounds connected 2 of the grounds for the lawsuit to proceed to proceedings connected the ground that the Ulez hold mightiness beryllium unlawful.

These related to claims determination was a nonaccomplishment to travel statutory procedures and a nonaccomplishment to see the imaginable for inclusion of non-Londoners successful the caller £110m scrappage scheme.

Those eligible for assistance from the scrappage strategy tin get up to £2,000 for scrapping a car oregon up to £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle. For wheelchair-accessible vehicles determination is simply a assistance of up to £5,000.

The arguable strategy has trigged a fierce statement crossed the city, pitting the politician and wellness campaigners against those who accidental they cannot instrumentality different economical deed during a clip wherever costs are already soaring.

Chris Fordham, who drives a non-compliant 2012 diesel van, told AFP quality bureau the planned enlargement meant helium was reasoning astir stopping work, adding: "They're hitting moving people radical again."

But Jemima Hartshorn, laminitis of run radical Mums for Lungs and parent to an asthmatic daughter, said it was often the poorest who suffered by surviving adjacent to engaged roads.

"It's perfectly captious that adjacent successful a outgo of surviving situation we bash not footwear the tin of aerial contamination down the roadworthy and fto much children turn up unhealthy and unwell," she told Reuters.

The hearing, earlier Mr Justice Swift, is owed to commencement astatine 10:00 BST connected Tuesday. The justice is expected to springiness his ruling astatine a aboriginal date.