Decision details

The Council considered the Notice of Motion 1 ‘Opposing  London Ulez Expansion’ - as set out on page 65 of the agenda.

The Motion was moved and presented by Councillor Crow, who in doing so gave further explanation of the reasoning behind the Motion.  It was seconded and supported by Councillor Burrett.

Councillor Jones then moved and presented Amendment 1 (as shown in the Supplementary Agenda Order Paper). The Amendment was seconded by Councillor Jhans.

A single debate occurred on both the recommendation and the proposed amendment. Councillors Ali, Irvine, and Jhans all spoke during the debate.

Councillor Crow used the right to reply to speak at the end of the debate. A recorded vote was requested on the amendment and the Mayor invited the Democracy and Data Manager to commence the recorded voting process.

For the Amendment: Councillors Ayling, Buck, Hart, Irvine, Jhans, Jones, K Khan, Y Khan, Lamb, Lunnon, C Mullins, S Mullins, Nawaz, Noyce, Pritchard, Raja, Rana and Sivarajah (18)

Against the Amendment: Councillors Ali, Belben, Bounds, Burgess, Burrett, Crow, Hellier, Jaggard, Lanzer, McCarthy, Mwagale, Peck, Pendlington, Piggott (14)

Abstentions: None (0)

The Mayor declared that the proposed amendment was carried – votes in favour 18 and votes against 14, with 0 abstentions.

The Mayor then called for a vote on the substantive Notice of Motion as amended.

RESOLVED

That the Full Council notes that: 

The London Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) currently covers the area within the North and South Circular Roads only. 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, plans to extend the ULEZ to cover all London Boroughs from 29 August 2023.

On Thursday 16 February 2023, a coalition of five councils opposed to the ULEZ expansion, comprising four outer London Boroughs (Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon) and Surrey County Council, launched a Judicial Review to challenge TfL and the Mayor of London's decision to expand the ULEZ to outer London boroughs. 

The proposed ULEZ extension would mean its outer boundary would apply from Farthing Way (the A23) in Coulsdon, which is only 11.9 miles away from Crawley’s boundary on the M23 at Junction 9 near Gatwick, which can be a drive of under 15 minutes.  

The daily charge to enter the London ULEZ is £12.50 for vehicles that are not exempt, with the penalty for not paying set to rise to £180. 

The charge is levied from midnight to midnight, meaning that non-exempt vehicles entering the zone in the evening and exiting after midnight would be charged £25 for one trip to anywhere in London.

Many Crawley residents have a need to travel by car to outer London Boroughs for a variety of purposes, including work and specialist hospital appointments. 

Residents on lower incomes are more likely to own older vehicles that are not exempt from paying the ULEZ charge.    

That Full Council approves:

To seek advice on the ULEZ expansion scheme from West Sussex County Council as the local authority in the area for dealing with highways and transport-related matters and from the Council’s Sustainability and Climate Emergency teams and for the motion as originally worded by the proposer and seconder to be referred to the Full Council Meeting in July 2023 for a decision.