Well, not completely – that would be too much to hope for. But London Mayor Boris Johnson has scrapped the recent extension of the Congestion Charging Zone, which took in most of Chelsea, Kensington and Westminster, and was hugely unpopular.
Boris scraps the Congestion Charge in Westminster, Chelsea and Kensington
The £8 per day charge was the subject of a public consultation, which found that 86% of businesses wanted the congestion charge lifted. Well, there’s a surprise.
Boris must now sort out the legal implications of the abolition, which will probably take at least 18 months, which does seem an awfully long time. But at least it’s been done, and Boris has actually done something that real Londoners wanted.
As you would expect, Labour had something to say on the subject. Their London Transport Spokesperson, Val Shawcross said:
‘It will lose Transport for London (TfL) £70m a year that could have been spent on improving our public transport system, and will increase traffic and air pollution in one of the dirtiest and noisiest areas of central London.’
Which is a valid point, if only they took in to account the huge negative impact the charge has on local businesses. But what’s better? A vibrant local economy bringing money in to the area (and the Council), or a few bob more, which probably wouldn’t get spent on transport anyway, whilst local businesses and jobs whither? I know which I’d choose, and the local businesses obviously felt the same.
It will be interesting to see if any of the other councils around the UK, such as Manchester Council, which is planning to introduce Congestion Charge Zones, thinks again. But then again, that seems highly unlikely. More’s the pity.
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