London council forced to pay £500,000 in Ulez charges for non-compliant diesel vehicles

A London council has admitted that it spent almost half a million pounds on charges from the Ulez scheme due to non-compliant petrol and diesel vehicles.

Data shows that Hillingdon Council spent £499,090 on fees from the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) as its 295-strong fleet of vehicles failed to meet regulations.

Of the almost 300 vehicles operated by the council across the borough, just three are electric, while six are hybrid.

The remaining 286 are all diesel, with 26 being non-compliant with Ulez rules, resulting in the council spending hundreds of thousands of pounds.

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Drivers and businesses must adhere to Ulez rules, which include Euro 4 for petrol cars, vans, minibuses and other specialist vehicles and Euro 6 for diesel variants of these vehicles.

Euro 4 vehicles are generally cars which were made in 2005 and light vans from 2006 onwards, while Euro 6 became mandatory for HGVs and buses from 2014, September 2015 for cars and September 2016 for larger vans.

Data obtained through a Freedom of Information request from the Local Democracy Reporting Service identified the large number of non-compliant vehicles among Hillingdon's fleet.

The council declared a climate emergency in January 2020 and has placed reducing emissions among some of its most important targets.

It added that it had purchased new diesel vehicles which offer the "best balance of performance and value for money", MyLondon reported.

A spokesperson said: "As one of London's largest boroughs, with one of the capital's longest road networks, Hillingdon needs a substantial and varied fleet, including specialist vehicles, to deliver essential services across greater distances."

It acknowledged that electric technology was constantly improving, although diesel still provided the council with certain efficiency benefits.

The spokesperson said older vehicles were being phased out to ensure the fleet performs as best as it can.

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Hillingdon Council said its Ulez costs were continuing to fall, with a goal of having all of its vehicles be Ulez-compliant by the end of the year.

The Corporate Resources and Infrastructure Committee announced in April that the high upfront costs of electric models remained a barrier to switching.

Councillor Stuart Mathers, leader of Hillingdon Labour, accused the Conservative council of being too slow on the issue.

He noted that Labour had consistently called for the modernisation of the council's fleet to reduce maintenance costs.

Drivers are charged £12.50 for cars, motorcycles, vans and specialist vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and minibuses up to five tonnes, to drive inside the Ulez.

Those who fail to pay the Ulez charge can be slapped with a £180 fine, although it will be reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

These fines apply to Cars, vans, motorcycles, motor tricycles, mopeds, motor caravans, ambulances and minibuses.

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