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London LF7 slammed as "the wrong thing to do"
Page 12
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LONDON COUNCILS, the umbrella organisation for London's 33 local authorities, has weighed into the debate on a proposed low-emission zone (LEZ) by questioning its value.
Transport for London (TfL) claims that with the LEZ in place air quality in London would improve by 11.6% by 2010.
However, London Councils says CV and PCV operators and the London boroughs will have to pay £470m to make existing vehicles comply with the zone's restrictions. In addition, it estimates a cost of 130m to introduce and enforce the LEZ.
A spokesman for London Councils, which campaigns for more resources, says: "We aren't trying to block the improvement of air quality in London, but we feel that the LEZ is the wrong thing to do.
"Instead of paying out millions on new equipment and enforcement, why not raise the MoT standards for vehicles?
-Therefore the only additional cost incurred by anyone would be to get their vehicles to the minimum pass standard." If the LEZ does go ahead, London Councils believes additional funding should be put in place. "TfL or the government will need to make grants available to councils to help them bring their vehicles in line with the new regulations," says the spokesman.
"There should also be exemptions made for vehicles with very infrequent use, such as gritters, mobile libraries and community transport."