Brent Council announced that 90% of their cars are now Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) compliant ahead of the scheme’s expansion London-wide on August 29th, 2023.
This means that drivers who are compliant will not have to pay the ULEZ charge, helping to reduce air pollution in the area.
The ULEZ scheme, which currently only covers the southern half of Brent below the North Circular Road, is being expanded by The Mayor of London to cover the whole of Brent later this year.
This follows the positive news that over a quarter of deadly particles have vanished in areas that were covered by the ULEZ last year, as reported in February
Councillor Krupa Sheth, Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action, said: “Making small changes to how we travel can have a real impact, we all need to do our bit.
“In Brent, we are proud to support initiatives that improve air quality, whether it’s our schools’ streets programmes, tree planting initiatives or cargo bike schemes. The best thing about this news is that we are getting the most polluting vehicles off the road and it won’t have an impact for the vast majority of our residents.”
Dr Melanie Smith, Brent’s Director of Public Health, added: “An estimated 4,000 deaths were attributable to air pollution in London in 2019. Toxic air increases the risk of lung and health diseases, including lung cancer. Growing evidence links air pollution to dementia and premature birth.”
To help prepare eligible Londoners for the ULEZ expansion, a major new £110m scrapage scheme has been launched. The scheme, which offers up to £2,000, is designed to help those on low income or disability benefits scrap their polluting cars, motorcycles, and wheelchair accessible vehicles.
More than four out of five drivers in Brent and other outer London boroughs will not be affected by ULEZ as their vehicles are already compliant.
However, all drivers are advised to use TfL’s checker to see if their vehicle meets the standards. Details of the scrappage scheme and the checker can be found on TfL’s website.
