Residents’ Fury as Ulez Camera Is Erected in the Middle of Their Quiet Cul-De-sac Leaving Them Facing £12.50 Charge Simply for Leaving Their ‘Little Road Nobody Knows About’
A low-emission monitor erected in the middle of a secluded cul-de-sac has infuriated residents who now face a £12.50 charge every time they exit their driveways. The Mail has the story.
People living in Headley Close, in Chessington, will be snapped every time they leave their homes to go to work in the morning and when they return – much to their fury.
Many have lashed out at Transport for London’s (TfL) “stupid” decision to place one of Sadiq Khan’s hated Ulez cameras on “a little road nobody knows about”.
Headley Close has a row of garages at one end of the street, mainly used by van drivers, and is situated in the borough of Kingston where the controversial ultra-low emission zone will spread to on August 29th.
But a boundary anomaly means when they exit the street onto Chessington Road they will be in leafy Surrey, in the borough of Epsom and Ewell.
The border also sees a part of the A3 Kingston bypass in the Surrey borough cutting between the low-emission boundary to leave Chessington on a ‘Ulez island’.
Quite why a camera has been placed facing the entry of the road has left many people livid with the technology set to be switched on in under two weeks.
Those with non-compliant vehicles – most commonly those registered before 2006 for petrol and 2014 for diesel – will now be £12.50 out of pocket every day their tyres make contact with and exit the road.
The feelings among those who live in the 30 red-brick homes in the quiet road are epitomised in a nearby street where a Ulez camera has been beheaded, modus operandi of a Blade Runner.
Beneath it are two cardboard signs strapped to the pole, which read: “Our local hero! Top man. Thank you! Up yours Khan!”
With the other reading: “Whoever did this we owe you a pint. Cheers mate.”
A middle finger has been drawn, followed by: “Swivel on that Kahn.”
Headley Close resident Svet Vas has already spent between £60,000 and £70,000 to replace three of his 2016 vans for his building company to ensure he meets the Mayor of London’s Ulez rules.
But that still won’t be enough to escape the charge all because of his hobby.
Mr. Vas uses a trailer to transport his modified Land Rover to dirt tracks. But as it is too large for the small street he drives the old 4×4 from his driveway, about 32 foot up the cul-de-sac, and loads it up onto the trailer there.
He thinks the non-Ulez-compliant vehicle’s massive tyres spend about 35 seconds on the road, but he will still be charged £12.50 each time.
The van towing the trailer and off-roader is well-within Mr. Kahn’s proscribed eco limit.
“I spent thousands and thousands of pounds modifying so I could put it on the trailer, so I’m legal with the police, with everyone – and then I can’t even unload it now,” he said.
“You can’t even do your hobby because of one thing. I drive 32 feet and that’s [£12.50], for no reason whatsoever.
“There are old people here and they’re going to have to park on the other road.
“I’m fortunate to make a good living, but there’s a lot of people that can’t afford cars like that.
“The guys that were building it said to me that they found three or four cars that were non-Ulez, and that’s why they put it in [the camera].” …
Gary Schoard was standing next to his non-compliant pick-up truck when he spoke with the MailOnline and said he would have to consider scrapping his car.
He does not live in the borough and was visiting his brother, Rod – a pleasure which will cost him £12.50 in two weeks time.
The builder will have to work for another four or five years before he retires, and took aim at Mr. Khan’s £2,000 scrappage payment which won’t cover the cost of a new car.
He said: “I’ve got to get rid of this soon, I’ve got another two weeks to scrap it – it’s old now, so I put in for it [to be scrapped].
“I don’t know why they bothered putting [the camera] down there. Residents can go out their driveway but can’t get out of this close.
“There’s a lot of fuss about it, no one really agrees with it.
“I’ve got another car as well that’s not Ulez, so I’ve got to do something about that too.”
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