I’ll look again at plans for congestion charge – Boris
PM SPOKE ON VISIT TO LONDON ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANY
BORIS Johnson has promised to ‘look again’ at controversial plans to introduce a congestion charge on Coventry’s roads.
On a visit to London Electric Vehicle Company on the outskirts of the city, the Telegraph asked the Prime Minister what he thought of the proposals.
Mr Johnson spoke widely of green transport during his visit, and said that Coventry and the West Midlands are at the forefront of a ‘green industrial revolution.’
In his first keynote speech of the election campaign he spoke of economic growth of recent years but said the UK could do even better,
On Brexit he said the Conservatives were the only party who could get Brexit done and warned of a supposed alliance between Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour and Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP.
In a Q&A session with local and regional media after the press conference, the Prime Minister was surprised to hear of the plans for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in the city, which were ordered by the government in March.
Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition calling on the government to scrap the plans.
Mr Johnson said ‘we will look at the scheme and the proposals’ – but stopped short of promising to throw them out entirely.
Asked about the CAZ and plans, which the city council oppose, to charge some motorists to enter the city, Mr Johnson said: “We will look at the scheme and the proposals.
“When I was mayor of London the low emissions plans were coming in just as the recession was biting in 2008 and they were postponed for a few years to help people who would otherwise have to scrap their vehicles.
“We will look at the details of the scheme and what we are proposing. It’s a good thing if we can improve our quality of air in town centres but we’ve got to do it in a way that’s fair and sensitive to the needs of people who need to drive their vehicles.”
Coventry is one of 22 UK towns and cities where nitrogen dioxide levels are forecast to exceed legal limits by next year.
The government ordered a CAZ in March. Coventry City Council is against the idea.
The plans would mean non-compliant vehicles could be charged between £8 and £12.50 to enter the city centre. The scheme, which would cost around £55m, could bring in between £130-200m before being decommissioned in 2028.
In an effort to curb charging, the city council has submitted alternative plans to improve air quality in the city however the Government has not yet responded to those plans. In September, Cllr Jim O’Boyle said until a response was received the authority could not devise a business plan, however he said it was not time to panic.
He said: “Until the government give us a response to our submission in June, which they have not, we cannot possibly put forward a business case.
“We are engaged with the government officials. I am not panicking about it.
“We have put forward proposals as to how we would do it and it is up to the government to respond.
“Is the council confident it can avoid a Clean Air Zone (CAZ)? Yes I am confident of that.
“The government has not demonstrated how a CAZ will do it better than our plans.”
It’s a good thing if we can improve our air quality... we’ve got to do it in a way that’s fair and sensitive to the needs of people who need to drive their vehicles.