(posted 7955 days ago)Guardian
11.15am updateLondon congestion plan faces legal battle
Staff and agenciesGuardian Unlimited
Monday July 15, 2002
Ken Livingstone's plan for a £5 daily congestion charge for motorists driving into central London was today facing a high court challenge.
Conservative-controlled Westminster council and the Kennington Association were applying for a judicial review to try to stop the weekday fee, which is set to be introduced in February.
They argue the scheme is unlawful because the mayor of London has not carried out a full environmental impact assessment or held a public inquiry into its effects.
His decision to proceed breaches European directives and the 1998 Human Rights Act, they argue.
Westminster council believes it threatens the quality of life of residents because motorists will use rat runs on the edge of the charging zone to escape the fee.
They also state it could "create havoc" separating citizens outside the zone from services such as school, shops and medical services within - although there is nothing to stop Londoners using the tube, buses, taxis, motorbikes, bicycles or even walking across the boundary.
The council also alleged that Transport for London (TfL), the mayor's transport authority, had ignored its own study by Halcrow Fox, which identified potential significant adverse air quality impacts on the capital.
Kit Malthouse, the deputy leader of Westminster council, said: "We need a proper debate on the merits and practicalities of the scheme.
"Above all, we need to have a proper public transport infrastructure before a congestion charging scheme can be introduced".
Mr Livingstone believes he has a strong legal case to defeat the challenge.
He said: "Everyone of my decisions has been looked at by barristers and subject to proper legal study.
"We have done everything possible to proceed lawfully and we hope that we will be allowed to proceed on this basis."
TfL has earmarked £2.3m to cover legal fees. The charge will reduce traffic by 10-15% and improve congestion to "summer school holiday levels", it claims.
Motorists will be charged if they want to drive into a central zone between 7am to 6.30pm from Monday to Friday, raising up to £130m annually for public transport improvements.
Approximately 230 cameras are being installed to take pictures of licence plates which will be checked with a central database to see if the fee has been paid, based on the technology already used in the City of London's "ring of steel". Those who do not pay will be fined up to £120.
Tfl described Westminster's case as "misconceived".
A spokesman said: "We've had more than 18 months of public consultation and Westminster city council are raising no new issues.
"Everything has been carefully considered and thought through. Congestion is one of the most pressing transport problems facing the capital."
Mr Livingstone won a massive personal mandate for the scheme when he made that, and opposition to the government's plans for a partly privatised underground, his two major policy planks in the 2000 mayoral election.
The mayor is currently involved in a bitter battle to be readmitted to the Labour party ahead of the next mayoral contest in 2004.
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