GREAT news for London-based trades ahead of the Ultra Low Emission Zone introduction (April, 2019): there’s a new scrappage scheme for older, more polluting vans.

Announced by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, it’s worth £23 million and aimed at supporting businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

The London van scrappage scheme is designed to be in place ahead of the new central London ULEZ, which has been introduced to tackle poor air quality.

The ULEZ commences April 08, 2019.  Diesel vans which do not meet the latest Euro 6 standard will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive in central London. It applies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is in addition to the Congestion Charge.

Why is the London Mayor introducing the ULEZ?

The Mayor says that across the country, toxic air leads to 40,000 premature deaths annually, and increases the risk of asthma, cancer, dementia – imposing a financial burden of £20 billion on the economy every year.

Under the City Hall scheme, funding would be available to scrap vans that do not comply with the new ULEZ standards, but which are driven into the ULEZ zone regularly. The Mayor says it will help thousands of small business owners update their vehicles.

Further details of the scheme will be unveiled following discussion amongst City Hall  officials and TfL to work out how the money could be spent most effectively.

Mayor Khan also challenged the Government to match his ambition and leadership by match-funding London’s van scrappage scheme with £23 million of Government money, funded either from the £245 million National Clean Air Fund or from underspend on Highways England’s £75 million air quality fund.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

“Air pollution is a national health crisis that is stunting the lung development of our children and leading to thousands of premature deaths. To truly get a grip on our lethal air we need to take bold action to rid our city of the most polluting vehicles.

“It’s not good enough to do nothing, and I’m determined to take real action which is why I’ve already delivered the Toxicity Charge in central London for the oldest polluting vehicles, cleaned up our bus fleet, and brought forward the Ultra Low Emission Zone. My scrappage scheme is my next step in tackling pollution.”

Gerry Keaney,  who is Chief Executive of the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association (BVRLA), said:

“It is great that the Mayor is providing extra financial support for upgrading vans, which are an essential tool for so many SMEs operating in London.

“More and more firms are choosing to lease because it provides an affordable, fixed cost way of accessing the latest low-emission vehicles. The BVRLA and its members look forward to working with the GLA on its plans to remove older, more polluting vans from London’s roads.

“Vehicle rental and car clubs will also play a vital role in helping businesses and individuals make the shift to cleaner, ULEZ-compliant motoring from April 2019.”

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