(posted 7940 days ago)The Sun
Wed, Jul 31, 2002
BREAKING NEWS
Congestion charge is legal
By DAVE MASTERSLONDON Mayor Ken Livingstone was celebrating today after his controversial congestion charging scheme was given the green light by a judge.
Opponents of the daily £5 fee to drive into central London had taken the mayor to court in a bid to get it blocked.
But this morning their legal challenge - launched on the grounds it was against human rights - was thrown out at London's High Court.
Motorists are now expected to have to pay the toll from February.
During the six-day hearing, estimated to have cost around £3 million, Westminster Council and residents from the Kennington Association claimed the move would increase air pollution and affect the quality of city life.
But today Mr Justice Maurice Kay dismissed both claims at the packed court hearing.
Welcoming the ruling, Mr Livingstone said: "We are happy that our entire approach to the introduction of congestion charging, which has involved an unprecedented level of consultation, has been vindicated.
"We now look forward to being free to proceed with addressing the problems of congestion in London without the distraction of legal proceedings."
But a spokesman for the AA hit back saying: "We are disappointed at this decision. This is potentially the biggest transport development ever to affect drivers across the south of England, yet there has been no independent examination to establish whether the basic assumptions of those promoting it make sense.
"It is unacceptable that the very people promoting the scheme are the ones to decide whether it goes ahead."
Councillor Kit Malthouse, deputy leader of Westminster Council, added: "We still believe that a major scheme of this nature should not be implemented without more effective scrutiny and we question whether Britain's first congestion charge should be introduced in a complex city such as London."
At the recent hearing, Roger Henderson QC, appearing for Westminster, accused the mayor of failing to carry out a full and efficient consultation before giving the multi-million pound scheme the go- ahead.
He told the judge the decision breached human rights because he had also failed to order an environmental impact assessment or hold a public inquiry.
Those failures meant it had been impossible to consider matters fully by examing local traffic management, parking, local air quality and the effect the scheme would have on all those who lived and worked in the city.
But acting for the mayor, Charles George QC said Mr Livingstone had sought appropriate advice by recruiting a team of experts and by going to outside specialists on traffic and air pollution.
© 2002 News Group Newspapers Ltd.