PEOPLE in Hillingdon lead the way in applications to the vehicle scrappage scheme, in support of the Mayor London’s expansion scheme for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

To date, 258 of 543 applications for cars and motor cycles have been approved.

A total of 310 of 982 applications for vans and minibuses have also been given the nod.

A total of more than £2m, far in excess of any other London borough, has been committed to Hillingdon drivers.

This compares with £1.1m for Harrow, £1.4m for Hounslow and £1.5m for Ealing. None of those councils is involved in the legal challenge to ULEZ expansion.

Daily charges for older, polluting vehicles come into force at the end of August.

Hillingdon Council, on the fringe of London, is among the leading critics of the scheme and is involved in legal action to delay or halt it.

The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, announced this week that tens of thousands more Londoners, including all receiving child benefit and all small businesses, will be eligible for financial support to replace polluting vehicles.

The mayor says most vehicles in the capital are already ULEZ-compliant and will not need to pay the ULEZ charge of £12.50 a day to drive in Greater London.

He added: “I completely understand the concerns of people who may not have a compliant vehicle and are worried about how they’ll make the transition. 

“Expanding the ULEZ was an incredibly difficult decision for me.  But, with toxic air damaging the health of millions of Londoners and the need to tackle the climate crisis, I believe the cost of inaction would simply be far too high a price to pay.”