Expansion of LEZ to vans suspended by London Mayor

The expansion of London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) to include Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) from October 2010 has been suspended indefinitely by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

The third phase of the scheme would have affected any LCVs under 3.5 tonnes with charges of £100 per day or fines of £500 per day for non compliant vehicles entering the zone.

It is estimated that some 90,000 LCVs would be subject to the charges or fines with their operators faced with bills of upto £2,000 per vehicle to make them compliant or the cost of £15,000 for a new vehicle.

The cost to firms for pollution abatement equipment or a new vehicle would be intolerable in the current financial climate and the mayor felt that the threat of job losses of firms going into receivership would be too much for the state to bear.

Also a public consultation has begun to asses whether the third phase should be introduced at all.

News brought to you by Insuremyvehicle.co.uk offering comprehensive commercial vehicle insurance for vans up to 3.5 tonnes.

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