The mayor of London has been urged to reinstate plans for stage three of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ).
London Assembly members passed a motion calling on Boris Johnson to proceed with the plans, in order to reduce air pollution and improve Londoners’ health, meet European air quality standards, and avoid landing taxpayers with a £300M fine. The motion expressed its concern with Johnson’s intention not to proceed with stage three in 2010 as originally planned.
Proposing the motion, Darren Johnson, chair of the assembly’s environment committee, said: ‘Air pollution continues to be a serious problem for London, causing 1,000 premature deaths every year. We were very surprised that rather than announcing much-needed additional measures to tackle this problem, the mayor made a reckless and irresponsible decision to backtrack on the plans.’ Johnson added that the mayor was playing with the health of Londoners while undermining the Government’s case to the EU that it took air quality seriously.
A spokesman for the mayor’s office said the first two phases of the LEZ had worked well, but the third was not realistic in the current economic climate. ‘The mayor believes that a range of other measures will allow real progress to be made by 2012, in terms of cutting pollution and hitting air quality targets.
‘At a recent meeting with Lord Hunt to discuss air quality issues, they agreed that the GLA and DEFRA would work on a package of measures, both national and regional, which could address PM10 emissions in London, in order to meet EU targets,’ he said. Boris Johnson postponed the third phase of the LEZ in February, citing the ‘detrimental impact it would have on London’s small businesses’ (Surveyor, 5 February). The LEZ currently targets the most polluting lorries over 3.5t, buses and coaches.
Register now for full access
Register just once to get unrestricted, real-time coverage of the issues and challenges facing UK transport and highways engineers.
Full website content includes the latest news, exclusive commentary from leading industry figures and detailed topical analysis of the highways, transportation, environment and place-shaping sectors.
Use the link below to register your details for full, free access.
Already a registered? Login
