Residents blast being in Ulez zone whilst their neighbours are not
The great ULEZ divide: Residents living on street split in two by expansion are forced to flog their cars for less than half their value, or take out loans to pay for new vehicles – while neighbours just feet away are eligible for scrappage scheme
- Maiden Lane sits on the border between London and Kent in the south east
Residents living on a street split in two by Sadiq Khan’s ultra low emission zone say they have been forced to fork out thousands on new cars – while neighbours just feet away are eligible for the scrappage scheme.
Maiden Lane, which sits on the border between London and Kent in the south east of the capital, is on the ULEZ front line from today.
People living on the Crayford side of the road, which is in the London Borough of Bexley, will benefit from the Mayor’s scrappage scheme – getting up to £7,000 for their old vehicles.
But those living on the other side, in the county of Kent, fall under Dartford Borough Council and are not eligible to claim cash towards a new compliant car.
With the expansion of ULEZ today, they will risk having to pay £12.50 a day to get to work or school inside the restriction zone.
Teaching assistant Andrea Balm, 47, lives on the Dartford side of the road. The mother-of-three said her husband Ian, 47 – a self-employed window-fitter and anti-ULEZ campaigner – has had to take out a £10,000 loan to buy a new van, as his old transit wasn’t ULEZ-compliant.
Ulez sign postage on Maiden Lane where one side is in Bexley and the other is in Kent
Maiden Lane, which sits on the border between London and Kent in the south east of the capital, is on the ULEZ front line from today
Teaching assistant Andrea Balm, 47, lives on the Dartford side of the road
Ian Balm’s newly purchased ULEZ compliant van – but he had to take out a £10,00 loan to afford it
Andrea said: ‘My husband had to get rid of his work van and he got an absolute pittance for it because nobody wants it if it’s not ULEZ compliant.
‘He’d only had it about 18 months and there was nothing wrong with it.
‘He paid £1,800 originally – and that was quite a good price – but he only got £800 when he sold it, so he’s lost a grand.
‘The new van is identical to the one he had before, just a bit newer.It cost him about £8,500 and then he had to pay an extra £200 in insurance on top of that. He spent another £300 on installing racks inside it too. So roughly £9,000 altogether.
‘We couldn’t afford it so we’ve had to take out a £10,000 loan.’
Andrea said the couple came to the conclusion that forking out for a new van was the ‘lesser of two evils’ – as they didn’t want to fund Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ scheme by paying the charge or fines.
She added: ‘There’s nothing we could do about it. The only choice we had was whether we spent the money on a new van or put it in the Mayor’s pockets.’
The 47-year-old feels it is ‘unfair’ that neighbours on the other side of the road – around 20ft away – were eligible for the scrappage scheme, but Ian was not.
Andrea said the couple came to the conclusion that forking out for a new van was the ‘lesser of two evils’ – as they didn’t want to fund Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ scheme
Residents of the London borough of Bexley (in red) can claim thousands of pounds for their old car or van under the ULEZ scrappage scheme. Those on the other side of the boundary in Kent cannot claim anything – even if they live on the same street as their London neighbours
She said: ‘He got nothing back on scrappage because we’re on the Kent side. We got no help at all.
Read more: Street split in half by ULEZ expansion will see neighbours pay £25 for school runs, £12.50 to go shopping and break into funeral funds
‘But we’re just as affected by it as they are. It’s not like it’s feasible to avoid the ULEZ zones altogether.
‘Their kids get free oyster passes too, but ours don’t. It’s so unfair.
‘It’s like a postcode lottery for the sake of a few feet. It’s the biggest money-grabbing scheme I’ve ever seen.’
The teaching assistant has also noticed that commuters with non-compliant cars are starting to use the road to park their vehicles while they walk over the border to Crayford station.
She said: ‘Parking is already bad around here and it’s only going to get worse.’
Pensioner Charles Whitewood, 81, who also lives on the Dartford side of Maiden Lane, was forced to sell his 2004-plate Mercedes 320 for less than half its value due to the ULEZ expansion.
The disabled great-grandfather-of-19, married to wife Norma, 75, said there were ‘tears rolling down the hill’ when he had to give up his beloved motor.
Charles Whitewood, 81, who also lives on the Dartford side of Maiden Lane, was forced to sell his 2004-plate Mercedes 320 for less than half its value due to the ULEZ expansion
People living on the Crayford side of the road, in the London Borough of Bexley, will benefit from the Mayor’s scrappage scheme but those living on the other side, in Kent, fall under Dartford Borough Council and are not eligible to claim cash towards a new compliant car
He said: ‘I had to sell my Merc and get a Ford on Motability, because I couldn’t afford a new car any other way.
‘I only got £2,000 for it because nobody wants a car that’s not ULEZ-compliant. But it was worth about £5,000.
‘I also lost all my no claims bonuses – 60 years worth – in the process. And it’s just not the same – how can you compare the two cars.
‘There were tears rolling down the hill when I had to get rid of that Merc.’
The grandfather-of-28, who has lived on Maiden Lane for 18 years, believes his diesel Mercedes was more fuel efficient than his new vehicle.
He said: ‘I could do 329 miles on a full tank with the old car. With this one, I get round the corner and it’s already run out of petrol.’
Another resident, Alan Barnett, 58, only discovered today that his Kawasaki motorcycle isn’t ULEZ-compliant.
The former refuse collector – who lives with his elderly mother Ruth, 84, and is currently recovering from a heart attack – is worried the pair will end up stuck indoors as a result of the expansion.
Alan Barnett, 58, only discovered today that his Kawasaki motorcycle isn’t ULEZ-compliant
He said: ‘It’s absolute rubbish. I didn’t even realise until today that my bike wasn’t compliant.
‘I get out on it most days so I’m either going to only drive one way out of the road or face being stuck indoors.’
Alan also has a 2005-plate minibus which he purchased during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been renovating into a campervan. But the vehicle is not ULEZ-compliant – leaving him fearing he has wasted a lot of time and resources on it.
He said: ‘I can’t afford a new one and besides, it’s not just a case of selling it, it’s also the time and effort I put into restoring it.
‘It doesn’t matter to Sadiq Khan and his mates because they’ve got lots of money.
‘But all they seem to do is keep putting more taxes on us. It’s just another thing to pay for.’
The 58-year-old believes the Mayor of London should’ve improved transport in the suburbs before expanding the scheme.
He said: ‘It’s ridiculous that one half of the road falls under ULEZ and the other half doesn’t.
‘I can understand it in the city centre where it gets congested, but not around here. It’s a residential area. We haven’t got the transport links that central London has.’
Alan also has a 2005-plate minibus which he purchased during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been renovating into a campervan -but the vehicle is not ULEZ-compliant
He is also concerned that the parking situation will become worse, adding: ‘Trying to find somewhere to park is going to be horrendous.’
Raj Patel, 55, has lived on the Crayford side of the road, with his wife and two adult children, for 35 years.
The former shop owner is not personally affected by ULEZ, as his two vehicles are complaint with the scheme, but vehemently disagrees with it.
He said: ‘I don’t believe in it at all. We already pay road tax, the Dartford toll and the congestion charge. It’s just another tax to add to the list.
‘They make enough money off us but they still want more. It’s bleeding the public dry.
‘Lots of people around here are having to sell their cars, but the vehicles are becoming worthless.
‘My friend had a Range Rover that he’s had to sell and replace with a smaller car. He’s got two sets of twins and is now having to make two trips because they can’t all fit in the new car.’
Jeremy Kite, leader of Dartford Borough Council, described the explanation as a ‘deeply upsetting situation’ for residents.
He visited Maiden Lane today and said: ‘It’s not those with significant funds who are affected, it’s the likes of nurses and students and small businesses who can’t afford to just change their cars on a whim.
Jeremy Kite, leader of Dartford Borough Council, described the explanation as a ‘deeply upsetting situation’ for residents
‘There’s lots of people around here on low incomes who cannot just drop everything and buy a new vehicle.
‘The irony is that 90 per cent of vehicles are compliant already, and many others were heading towards purchasing cleaner and greener vehicles over the next few years anyway.
‘But the money they would’ve saved up for a more environmentally-friendly car, they’re now having to spend on the ULEZ charge.’
The 60-year-old said he does not object to ULEZ, but believes the expansion was ill thought out.
He added: ‘I’m not against ULEZ as a whole. In major cities where public transport is an option, it works really well. But people around here have no choice – they have to have cars.
‘My view is they were our roads last week, which tax-payers have paid for.
‘But now Sadiq Khan is effectively saying that people who did not vote for him and cannot get rid of him are having to pay his tax. It’s an injustice.’
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