© 2002 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd(posted 7929 days ago)01 August 2002 09:17 BDST Home > News > UK > Transport
High Court backs Livingstone's £5 levy on drivers entering central London
By Dan Gledhill01 August 2002
Motorists will have to pay £5 for driving into central London after Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, won a High Court battle to proceed with his plan for congestion charges in the capital.
Westminster City Council and the Kennington Association, with the backing of Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council, asked a judge to block the new charges, which are due to take effect in February. But yesterday, after a six-day hearing costing £3m, Mr Justice Maurice Kay refused their application for judicial review.
Welcoming the ruling, Mr Livingstone said: "We are happy that our approach to the introduction of congestion charging, which has involved an unprecedented level of consultation, has been vindicated.
"We look forward to being free to proceed with addressing the problems of congestion in London without the distraction of legal proceedings."
Green groups welcomed the decision, but Westminster Council said it was "deeply disappointed" with the outcome, while the Freight Transport Association vowed to fight on to get the scheme scrapped.
It marks a reversal of fortune for Mr Livingstone, who had to abandon his High Court challenge to the Government's part-privatisation of the Tube only a few days ago. Mr Livingstone's legal bill was estimated to be approximately £4m.
At the hearing, the congestion scheme was condemned by opponents as unlawful and likely to increase air pollution and adversely affect the quality of city life.
After the hearing, Kit Malthouse, Westminster council's deputy leader, said: "We are deeply disappointed with this ruling. We brought this case along with a number of other bodies based on good legal advice and because congestion charging will have a substantial impact on our businesses and residents."
Roger Henderson QC, appearing for Westminster council at a recent hearing, accused the Mayor of approving the multimillion-pound scheme without running a full and efficient consultation.
The Mayor's decision was flawed and breached human rights because he had also failed to order an environmental impact assessment, or hold a public inquiry, Mr Henderson told the judge. Those failures had prevented the opportunity to consider fully all relevant matters, including 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 lawyers for the Mayor argued that Mr Livingstone had discharged his legal responsibilities in "a rigorous and conscientious manner".