Council votes to formally oppose ULEZ expansion
By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter
A council has voted to oppose the Mayor of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion, calling it a new “Berlin Wall” along London’s outer borders.
Bromley council has voted to oppose the expansion planned for this August, which will see residents being charged £12.50 to drive through the borough if their car is not environmentally friendly enough.
The decision comes after the council announced on February 16 that it had legally challenged the expansion in a coalition with Bexley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey county councils.
The topic was discussed at a full council meeting for Bromley council on Monday.
Conservative councillor Will Rowlands called the speed at which the Mayor of London was proceeding with the expansion “vile,” and said hospital staff would be forced into exile from the scheme.
He said at the meeting: “When shops, traders and our local economy are crushed as a result of Khan resurrecting a new Berlin Wall along our outer borders, it will be as a result of not supporting this administration, as it holds the Mayor to account along with the four other local authorities trying to return democracy and order to City Hall.”
Labour councillor Simon Jeal said he was astonished by the points made by Cllr Rowlands, comparing the comments to those made in a GCSE Government and Politics debate.
He said: “We are clearly not going to vote for this. Your motion is essentially calling on us to support you, saying that the Mayor of London is lying.
“You are testing that in court, but we are of course not going to support that.”
At the end of the motion, Bromley council agreed to support the motion against the ULEZ expansion, and to label statements from the Mayor of London about the quality of air in the borough as “misleading”.
The Mayor of London was approached for a comment but did not respond at the time of publication.
Pictured top: Bromley Civic Centre (Picture: Google Street View)
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