Central London Ultra Low Emmission Zone 2020

I have been involved with consultation on the ULEZ , that is to be introduced in London in 2020 and run 24/7 365 days a year. I proposed that that there should be exemption to any charge for this scheme for MVs, classic cars and buses as this would prevent such vehicles being involved in parades or charity runs in London.

I'm pleased to say that their response was

'For the purposes of the ULEZ standards we have aligned our definition of an historic vehicle with the Government’s so that all vehicles with a ‘historic’ vehicle tax class will be exempt.

Prior to that it seems 'history stopped at 1973' but at least things are moving in the right direction. So I'm told the Government is also looking to allow a rolling exception to VED / Car Tax so that by 2020 my MV will be 40 years old and also exempt.

For now!

Last week I had a 1/2 day working very close to the main Heathrow terminals. The last 1/2 mile of the journey with the low loader was inside the LEZ - which for a Euro 4 compliant outfit meant an extra cost of £200.

It seemed more than a little ironic that we spent the time being rained upon by untaxed / regulated AVTUR droplets and products of combustion……

Last week I had a 1/2 day working very close to the main Heathrow terminals. The last 1/2 mile of the journey with the low loader was inside the LEZ - which for a Euro 4 compliant outfit meant an extra cost of £200.

 

It seemed more than a little ironic that we spent the time being rained upon by untaxed / regulated AVTUR droplets and products of combustion……

AVTUR isn't untaxed, it is subject to VAT, admittedly at a zero rate for international flights. If you are sore about the fact that airlines don't pay road fuel duty, think of how much the government collects in Air Passenger Duty for an A380 full of passengers....

As regards whatever rained on you, there is food for thought in an report which I recently read; an investigation into complaints of pollution by residents close to London City Airport. Here are a few excerpts from the analysis of the pollutants:

The black smuts were difficult to view easily but could be seen to be comprised of coked oil droplets produced from an fuel oil burning industrial boiler. These smuts are often formed within the chimney of an industrial facility by the condensation of sulphuric acid in the flue gases..

The samples were taken by wiping the deposit from the. surface and retaining the deposit in a small plastic bag. Back in the laboratory the samples were later examined under a stereo-zoom Nikon microscope with high intensity incident illumination. The above contents were confirmed as the main constituents and the minor constituents were flakes of rust and paint, and paint spheres from paint spraying. Some of the coal and coked coal particles were large. about 150 microns which showed that they either originated from tall industrial chimneys or from nearby domestic chimneys. The coked oil droplets were smaller. most less than 100 microns, which suggests that the industrial sources could be some distance away, perhaps over 1 km.

The main black component was tyre rubber debris which indicated that the main source of the dust deposit, including the sand and other mineral material, was from road dust. This is not an unexpected finding. Major roads, with high HGV traffic flows. are usually found to be the largest source of airborne dust deposits in urban, industrial, commercial and sub-urban areas. This indicates that the road network to the south, south-west and west of the residential area is more likely to be the main source of the dust deposits than the access road to the Airport, which does not carry HGV traffic.

The sample contained no evidence of carbon soot from the airport operations. It should be remembered that the space heating plant for the Airport Terminal building is fired by natural gas. not fuel oil. The analysis of the sample gave no indication of any detectable impact from the Airport facilities or its operations.

A very interesting report extract, thanks!.

I wouldn't say I'm sore about lack of an aviation equivalent of road fuel duty per se - more the fact that over here we have set our standards so high that all we seem to be doing is crucifying our own industry/commerce/economy by the imposition of very stringent emission controls which piles on the pressure to transfer more and more manufacturing to the parts of the world which pay far less attention to such environmental concerns - which just makes matters on a global scale even worse (even if it is better for cyclists / residents in London).

But my grumpy old man rant has nothing to do with the good news about the LEZ and Historic taxation - now, where an we get hold of a decent pre-1973 tractor unit to pull the low loader with? :cool2:

...- now, where an we get hold of a decent pre-1973 tractor unit to pull the low loader with? :cool2:

Won't help you Tony, You can't tow a laden trailer with a vehicle taxed as 'historic'. They've thought of that! ;-)

On a more serious note I'm pleased to see the good work we did for the historic vehicle movement during the original LEZ consultation is being carried on, and the 'historic' exemptions will continue to be respected.

- MG

A very interesting report extract, thanks!.

 

I wouldn't say I'm sore about lack of an aviation equivalent of road fuel duty per se - more the fact that over here we have set our standards so high that all we seem to be doing is crucifying our own industry/commerce/economy by the imposition of very stringent emission controls which piles on the pressure to transfer more and more manufacturing to the parts of the world which pay far less attention to such environmental concerns - which just makes matters on a global scale even worse (even if it is better for cyclists / residents in London.

Without getting into the deeper or global parts of the argument, I entirely agree that incurring an extra charge of £200 just for travelling half a mile out of necessity in carrying out your work, is unnecessary, counter-productive and utterly iniquitous.

BTW, I'll declare an interest here: I work in commercial aviation but I never cease to be amazed by the way in which the entire industry continues to behave as if a) The world's oil reserves are unlimited and b) The environment in general and the atmosphere in particular are impervious to our emissions.