Sadiq Khan is pressing ahead with his proposed expansion of the Ulez to the Greater London boundary next month, despite the risk that the High Court could impose a roadblock on his plans.
A two-day judicial review brought by five Tory councils ended on Wednesday afternoon, with the judge, Mr Justice Swift, saying he would aim to deliver his judgement by July 31 – less than a month before the zone is due to expand.
Nick Rogers, transport spokesman for the City Hall Conservatives, warned the mayor on Thursday that it was “unreasonable” for many Londoners, small businesses and charities to have so little time to decide whether to “get into debt” to upgrade non-compliant vehicles.
Mr Rogers asked Mr Khan: “Even if the judgement goes in your favour, with the tight timetable you are setting for August 29, do you not accept it’s unreasonable to expect Londoners to act so quickly?”
But Mr Khan said many Londoners had already chosen to act since he first published proposals for the Ulez expansion last summer.
He told the London Assembly: “We will have to wait and see what the High Court decides. A lot of Londoners have already made the transition, whether it is a family, a businesses or a charity.
“I simply can’t comment on when the judgement is going to come back or what it is going to be. But we are working on the basis... that the Ulez will be expanded to all of London towards the end of August.”
The High Court could potentially force Mr Khan and TfL to re-consult on the Greater London Ulez if it find the mayor acted beyond his powers or failed to consider key issues.
But defeat for the councils – Harrow, Hillingdon, Bexley, Bromley and Surrey county council – would effectively give the green light for Mr Khan to progress as he wishes.
What could the High Court judgement mean for @SadiqKhan? pic.twitter.com/qDjcmlNaIc
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) July 4, 2023
Mr Justice Swift said: “I understand that this is a case where it would be better if the judgement were sooner rather than later.
“I will do my very best to get you a judgement by end of term, but I can make no definitive promise.”
Tory assembly member Susan Hall asked TfL commissioner Andy Lord whether TfL was prepared for “all eventualities”, referring to an Evening Standard story which revealed it was “disaster planning” four scenarios that could result from the High Court judgement.
Mr Lord said the August 29 date was TfL’s “absolute focus”, adding that he was “confident we wil deliver the scheme for that date”.
Mr Lord said: “I don’t disaster plan for anything [but] we clearly plan for all eventualities.”
Ms Hall, who is seeking to become the Tory mayoral candidate, asked the mayor whether, should he lose the court case, if he would re-run the Ulez consultation “as soon as possible” or take the opportunity to “reassess the situation”.
Mr Khan said: “We are working on the basis we will succeed in defending the judical review and the basis that the Ulez will expand at the end of August. What we are not going to do is prejudge the outcome of the High Court case.”
The assembly was also told that three people had been apprehended following a number of instances of Ulez enforcement cameras being vandalised or stolen.
Mr Lord said the Met police had been investigating the cases. “There are three individuals who the police have apprehended,” he said. “Two have now been referred to the crown court. We don’t tolerate any acts of criminal behaviour on our network.”
On Wednesday, the High Court Ulez hearing was told that TfL did not publish the location of the cameras to deter anti-Ulez protesters from cutting them down as a “hobby”. At least 200 cameras are thought to have been targeted.
A total of 1,750 cameras are being erected in the outer London Ulez expansion zone. Mr Lord said the number targeted was a “relatively small” proportion of the total number.
Mr Rogers said only a third of the new cameras had been installed, and questioned whether all would be in place by August 29.
Mr Lord said: “The implementation plan is going as we intend. We are very confident we will have all the necessary infrastructure in place when the zone goes live.”
