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from Cathy (cathyvpreece@aol.com)

The Evening Standard

Car charges get go-ahead

by Paul Cheston and Chris Millar

Ken Livingstone's plan to impose a £5-a-day charge to drive into central London was given the go-ahead today.

The Mayor's victory in the High Court means the congestion charge can be brought in from next February. It is claimed that the fee will reduce the number of vehicles on the roads which in turn will cut pollution and allow traffic to move more freely.

But the controversial move has been fiercely opposed by Westminster council and Kennington Association residents' group. They argued that the charge was a breach of their human rights, would turn routes on the edge of the charging zone into rat-runs and would do little to curb pollution.

Objectors also claimed there had been inadequate consultation over the plan, which was a cornerstone of the Mayor's election campaign.

But Mr Justice Maurice Kay today rejected their call for a public inquiry and a plea for a more detailed analysis of the likely environmental impact.

The breakthrough came days after Mr Livingstone was humiliated in the same courtroom where he was forced to admit defeat in his fight against the Government's plans for part privatisation of the Tube.

Moments after the judge announced his decision, 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 now look forward to being free to proceed with addressing the problems of congestion in London without the distraction of legal proceedings."

Kit Malthouse, deputy leader of Westminster council, said: "We are deeply disappointed by this ruling and still believe a major scheme of this nature should not be implemented without more scrutiny.

"We believe it was right to bring this case in the interests of London."

He said that it was too early to confirm whether the council will be lodging an appeal.

Mark Rogers, vice- chair of the Kennington Association, said: "We are very disappointed because we felt we had a strong case. We feel that the people of Kennington are going to pay disproportionately for this scheme which will lead to a huge degradation in the quality of life for people in this area."

Defeat today could have put back the 17 February start date for the new charge by at least 10 months.

Delay could have pushed the outcome of any public inquiry close to the mayoral election of 2004.

During the six-day hearing, lawyers representing the council had argued that people living just outside the charging zone would see their streets turned in to polluted rat runs as motorists searched for routes exempt from the fee.

Two Kennington residents, Cathy Preece and Gareth Adamson, led the attempt to block the proposals, arguing that it would cause a vast traffic increase in their area prompting house prices to plummet.

The judge heard that the Mayor had failed to fully consider local traffic management, parking, local air quality and the impact of the scheme on those who lived and worked in London.

But Charles George, QC, representing the Mayor, insisted that Mr Livingstone had taken advice from all quarters by recruiting a team of experts and by going to outside specialists on traffic and air pollution.

He said there had been wide consultations-with exhibitions and public-meetings and the Mayor had received all objections to the scheme personally.

The judge was reading his 87-page judgment in open court and was ruling later today on who would foot the estimated £3 million legal bill.

The Mayor's team has set aside £2.5 million for the legal battle but last Friday he was ordered to pay £4 million in costs after the collapse of his objections for plans for the Tube.

Lynne Featherstone, the Lib-Dem transport spokesperson, said: "We urgently need to free up central London from the traffic congestion that is losing business millions. If the Mayor's scheme cuts traffic by 15 per cent, it's a winner."

Green London Assembly member Jenny Jones called on Westminster council to help make the scheme a success. She said: "We've had the indepth consultation, we've had the professional advice and now we've cleared the court case, we can get on with dealing with the congestion and pollution which are the downside of London life.

"What the Kennington residents and others living on the congestion charge boundary need is to see a successful scheme rolled out across the whole of London in a series of concentric zones."

© Associated Newspapers Ltd., 31 July 2002

(posted 7912 days ago)

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