Boris halts stage 3 of the LEZ scheme…

Anyone who has ever been to London or lived there knows that the city is one of the filthiest, most pollution riddled places in the world. The city of London and smog have a long and dirty relationship, even back in 1306 London was well known for its polluting fog, the then King Edward 1st briefly banned all coal fires in the city in an effort to banish the pollution, but the ban was soon repealed. In early December in 1952 one of worst recorded air pollution events occurred in London, known as the Great Smog of 1952. A mixture of freak weather currents, low quality sulphurous coal and an anticyclone caused one of thickest and most poisonous smogs ever known to man. For 5 days the city of London was blanketed in a vast thick fog, visibility was reduced to a few yards and the health impact of the smog was severe. Scientists and reports estimate that around 12,000 people died as a result of hypoxia and respiratory problems, a further 100,000 were made seriously due to the smog. 4 years later the government pushed through the Clean Air Act in an effort to clean up the air and dramatically reduce the amount of pollution in London.

Things have moved on considerably since those days, but London still remains a remarkably polluted city compared to its’ European counterparts. In 2003 the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, introduced the congestion charge; the schemes purpose was to reduce the number of cars and delays throughout the city, as well as helping to reduce emissions. In 2008, under EU directives, London began operating the LEZ or Lower Emissions Zone programme: a charging scheme with the aim of reducing emissions by charging commercial vehicles within certain areas. At present the charge only applies to lorries, buses and coaches and does not apply to cars, vans or minibuses. Despite the LEZ London still remains the most polluted city in Europe.

Recently the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced a two year suspension to the proposed third phase of the LEZ which would see vans and minibuses enter the scheme. The mayor decided that due to the current and ongoing financial crisis many small companies with older fleets of used vans and minibuses would not be able to cope with the fees and possibly penalties. Breaking the LEZ can result in a fine of £200 and a possible further fine of over £1,000 if the original fine remains unsettled. A spokesperson for London small businesses hailed the Mayor’s decision as ‘good news’ as many small freight, van hire and taxi companies would be unable to afford a switch over to lower CO emitting vehicles.