Sadiq Khan on Monday warned Tory boroughs seeking to block the expansion of the ultra low emission zone that they faced defeat at the High Court.
The Mayor claimed attempts to seek a judicial review of his decision to expand the Ulez to the Greater London boundary were “wholly without merit” and “misconceived”.
Hillingdon, Harrow, Bexley and Bromley councils have jointly sent a “pre action” letter to Transport for London, threatening court action if Mr Khan presses ahead with the expansion on August 29.
About 200,000 additional drivers a day are expected to have to pay the £12.50 emissions-based levy when it expands from the inner boundaries of the North and South Circular roads.
Harrow has set aside a fighting fund of up to £400,000 and says it is willing to go ahead even if the other boroughs drop out.
But Mr Khan on Monday opened a new front in the battle to expand the Ulez by writing to the leaders of the four councils to warn: “I expect any legal challenge will be unsuccessful.”
He urged the council leaders to “do the right thing” by seeking to reduce the health impacts of toxic air rather than “wasting a huge amount of your precious local authority budgets and money raised through your residents paying council tax”.
He wrote: “Instead of pursuing an expensive legal challenge funded by local residents, I would hope you would work with me to help clean up the dirty air that’s blighting our city and the lives of those we represent.”
But, Mr Khan made no mention of the cost of living crisis, which has led to many boroughs – including Labour-run councils such as Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham – to raise concerns about the timing of the expansion and the amount of help available for Londoners to upgrade their vehicles.
The mayor said it was “simply not true” that Ulez, which is costing almost £160m to introduce, was a money-making venture.
It is expected to generate up to £300m in levies and fines in its first year but for the income to fall to “nominal” levels by 2027 as drivers switch vehicles to avoid having to pay.
But Harrow leader Paul Osborn said he feared TfL would tighten the rules in later years to increase the number of vehicles that were non-compliant and had to pay.
He told the BBC: “If your vehicle is compliant today, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to be compliant in two years, three years.
“[Expanding the zone] when inflation is at 10 per cent, when energy bills are going up, when fuel bills are going up, when people’s food prices are going up, it’s not the right time to do it – even if it was the right solution, which I don’t really think it is.”
Mr Khan is providing a further £110m for a scrappage scheme for low-income Londoners, charities and small businesses – but may have to increase the amount to get his annual budget approved later this month by the London Assembly.
The four boroughs believe they have four grounds on which to challenge the legality of the Ulez decision – including the ban on drivers living in the “buffer zone” just outside London to apply for scrappage funds.
Mr Khan told the four leaders that hundreds of their residents were dying prematurely each year because of air pollution, which he called an “invisible killer”.
He wrote: “Research by Imperial College London shows that Bromley has the highest premature deaths linked to air pollution of all London boroughs – with an estimated 204 lives lost in 2019. In Bexley, it is 162 lives lost, in Harrow 118 lives lost, and in Hillingdon 155 people are estimated to have lost their lives because of conditions linked to air pollution.
“Every Londoner has a right to breathe clean air and we all share a moral and legal duty to achieve legal compliance with air pollution limits as quickly as possible.”
Harrow, Hillingdon, Bexley and Bromley councils have been approached for comment.
