Sign our ULEZ petition

We all understand the importance of clean air and we all want to reduce pollution across our city.

But the extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charge by the Mayor of London during this cost of living crisis is unfair and, in the words of a resident who spoke at our recent Council meeting, it’s cruel.

If you agree, please sign the council petition and add your voice to the almost 5,000 people who have already signed since we launched our petition on Monday night.

Sign our petition

The charge is being rolled out quickly with just a few months’ warning compared to the two and a half years’ notice given when it was introduced in Central London.

Transport for London figures show that around 30% of vehicles in our borough are non-compliant and the scrappage scheme isn’t sufficient to help everyone who needs it.

After decades of under-investment in public transport in our borough, we don’t have access to alternative transport options. Unlike most London boroughs, we have no Underground or TfL Overground stations, little access to the tram and no promise of investment for the future. We are reliant on increasingly infrequent and unreliable trains and bus routes which many Sutton residents can’t easily get to.

Many people are angry - and understandably so. Blue badge holders who aren’t eligible for the scrappage scheme and can’t use public transport. Businesses who rely on customers from nearby Surrey. Community and voluntary organisations like the Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders who fundraised so hard to buy vehicles which will incur the charge. Elderly relatives from outside the borough who want to visit their families. Shift workers who start work in the early hours of the morning.

Some people will be able to sell their non-compliant cars and buy new ones. But the ULEZ charge will hit the people who are struggling hardest. People on low incomes who are struggling to make ends meet. People who need more time to save up to purchase a new vehicle. People who are finding it hard to put food on the table for their children as food costs continue to soar.

If the Mayor won’t listen to us and understand the impact this charge will have on our lives, then we need to join together with one voice and take that voice to City Hall. Now is the time to come together and speak as one.

Please sign the petition. We are stronger together.

Councillor Ruth Dombey

Leader of the Council