Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new vehicle scrappage scheme to help drivers and businesses replace or retrofit older, polluting vehicles to comply with the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
The £110m scheme is the biggest-ever yet and launches ahead of the expansion of the ULEZ across outer London from 29 August.
Launched as TfL also increases the PCN level for the ULEZ from £160 to £180 (reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days), the scrappage scheme is available to lower-income or disabled Londoners, charities, sole traders and businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
Disabled drivers can apply for grants of £5,000 while Londoners receiving certain means-tested benefits and non-means-tested disability benefits can apply for cash grants of up to £2,000, as well as bus and tram passes.
Charities, sole traders and business with 10 or fewer employees registered in London can apply to scrap a van (£5,000 grant) or a minibus (£7,000 grant), retrofit certain vans or minibuses (£5,000 grant) or scrap and replace a van or minibus with a fully electric vehicle (£7,500 or £9,500 grant respectively).
The Mayor also announced a host of ULEZ support offers for subscriptions, rentals and purchases of cars, bikes, e-bikes and vans to accompany the scrappage scheme.
The scheme has been funded by City Hall, which noted that while the Government has provided scrappage funding in other cities across the UK, including Birmingham, Bristol and Portsmouth, it’s not provided any funding for the capital.
It launches as the Mayor comes under increasing pressure to axe the ULEZ expansion, after 19 outer London councils expressed concerns of the impact on drivers during the cost-of-living crisis. A coalition of Conservative councils in Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Harrow and Hillingdon have released a joint statement indicating plans for legal action to stop the expansion.
But speaking today at the launch of the scrappage scheme, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan reiterated the need to “save lives, help tackle the climate crisis and reduce congestion”.
Khan said: “We need to get the most highly polluting vehicles off our roads, which are damaging the health of all Londoners, including drivers. The rising cost of living has been a key consideration for me, which is why we are launching this new and improved scrappage scheme – the biggest ever – to help low-income and disabled Londoners, businesses, sole traders and charities switch to cleaner vehicles, or support them to make the most of other transport options.
“The health of Londoners must come first and I know that expanding the ULEZ London-wide, alongside this £110m scrappage scheme, will help us to continue building a greener, fairer and healthier London for everyone.”
South West London-based business Mortlake Plumbing and Heating has urged applicable businesses to apply for the funding.
Director James Colquhoun said: “In 2021 we scrapped three vans that weren’t ULEZ compliant. As a business we have to manage our overheads carefully but the grant makes a ULEZ-compliant van more affordable. The process of scrapping the vehicle is very easy – there’s a basic set of procedures to hand in the documentation and then you get the grant. It was slick. If people have non-compliant vehicles that they’re using in the zone every day, this is too good an opportunity to miss.”
Firms can also use the funds for vehicle retrofits, including through HJS Emission Technology, which offers fully accredited Euro 6 retrofit solutions for a wide range of Euro 5 light vans and commercial vehicles.
Mark Cooper, head of business development and sales UK, said: “The retrofit conversion is fully compliant with the stringent emissions requirements of the expanded London ULEZ, and will offer an alternative to thousands of light commercial vehicle owners who would otherwise be facing daily ULEZ charges or looking at purchasing a newer vehicle. Our product delivers an 80% reduction in NOx emissions, making a major contribution towards improving the capital’s air quality.”
For more details on the scrappage scheme and to apply, click here.
