Issue - meetings

This report sets out notices of motions ruled in order.

Council received one Motion submitted under FCR 14 of Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution.

Motion 1: “Proposed ULEZ Expansion Consultation by TFL”

The Council resolved by a majority vote to consider this Motion at the meeting. In pursuance of the Council’s Rules of Procedure, Councillor Phil Neale MOVED and Councillor Nigel Collin SECONDED the following Motion:

“I call upon this Council to respond to TFL’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone consultation with the impact of this zone to neighbouring non-London boroughs.

I would like to clarify that the ULEZ charge will only relate to non-exempt vehicles which will be any diesel vehicles with below Euro 6 engines generally vehicles registered with DVLA after Sept 2015 and petrol vehicles with below Euro 3 engines generally vehicles registered with DVLA after September 2005.  All vehicle owners can go on the TFL website and put their vehicle registration in the vehicle checker for confirmation. This will still leave a significant number of our residents who will be affected by the ULEZ proposals.

The ULEZ which was introduced in 2019 covering the same area as the congestion charge zone which was central London.  It was extended in October 2021 to include the area within North and South Circular roads. The scheme charges all non-exempt vehicle £12.50 per day to travel into the ULEZ.

We support the move to reduce the high level of air pollution caused by congestion and high emission from vehicles which the ULEZ scheme aims to achieve.

However, in this time of economic pressure the scheme needs to consider the economic, social and mental health needs of all communities affected by the scheme not just the London Boroughs.

Small businesses, leisure facilities, dentists, beauty salons, restaurants, pubs,  local shops, families and friends will be affected by this ULEZ just when we are starting to recover from the last two years of economic meltdown.

The proposal is to expand the ULEZ to all London boroughs which will include Kingston-upon-Thames which includes Chessington to the north and east and Sutton to the north and northeast.  This means that 8 out of our 13 wards will be impacted directly as they border the ULEZ. The remaining wards will also be impacted by rat running and increased parking demand by non-exempt vehicle owners attempting to avoid the increased ULEZ area.

This consultation ends at midnight on Friday 29th July, and I request that the following points are submitted in a borough response for consideration by TFL.

(1)          Provide exempt routes to all significant roads that provide access to important routes such as A3, M25, A240 and facilities such as the existing St Helier, the new hospital to be sited in Sutton, SW Region stations and other transport hubs that at present are outside the ULEZ but require EEBC residents to pass through the proposed ULEZ.

(2)          Owners of non-exempt vehicles in EEBC to be included in any scrappage scheme that the Mayor of London is requesting from central government for London borough residents.

(3)          That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26