As part of the Government’s strategy to improve air quality across the UK, discouraging the use of older, more polluting, vehicles is a key objective. The goal is to reduce the number of areas in the UK where air pollution breaches legal limits, and city by city, we are helping local, regional and transport authorities kick-start their ‘Clean Air Strategies’.

April 8th saw the introduction of the new Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year within the same area of central London as the Congestion Charge. Most vehicles, including cars and vans, need to meet the ULEZ emissions standards or their drivers must pay a daily charge to drive within the zone.

• £12.50 for most vehicle types, including cars, motorcycles and vans (up to and including 3.5 tonnes)

• £100 for heavier vehicles, including lorries (over 3.5 tonnes) and buses/coaches (over 5 tonnes)

The questions, now, are:

► Has YOUR business made the changes required to allow you to operate in the area?

► Are you unsure as to what your options are, in terms of compliant vehicle technology?

► Are you looking for financial help, and need more information?

If you require answers to any or all the above, then look no further…

8th November sees GREENFLEET arrive back in the Capital, and we’re delighted to be joined by the Transport for London and the Greater London Authority as our Hosts.

GREENFLEET South East is being held at Plexal, at Here East, on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, and we have lined up experts that can help you make the changes required to be ULEZ-compliant, and also do your bit to cleaning up London’s air.

London has to lead the way, in cleaning up its air, and the mayor has a strategy to deal with the reduction of both nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM10 (particles less than 10 microns) and the Mayor’s London Local Air Quality Management (LLAQM) framework is the statutory process used by local authorities to review and improve air quality within their areas.

This new framework was designed to specifically meet London’s needs. The key parts include:

●    Templates and tools, such as air quality data, maps and graphs, to help with action planning and monitoring. The "Action Matrix", for example, can help boroughs assess and prioritise actions to improve air quality

●    A Cleaner Air Borough accreditation for boroughs that effectively monitor and reduce air pollution

●    Information sharing through a regional annual report that highlights air quality projects led by London boroughs

●    The integration of planning into LLAQM – allowing oversight of how and where boroughs are meeting the air quality requirements found in the 'London Plan' and stressing the importance of this area of work
 

Air quality borough officers can access additional resources and helpful tools via Defra to assist them with LLAQM management.
 

Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) have a significant role to play in London and the South East cleaning up its air. The GLA, the London boroughs and surrounding counties will each have a strategy, and this event will feature keynote presentations and group sessions that will enable YOU to find out more, and more importantly, the role that YOUR BUSINESS has to play.