Jackson Ellis

It seems that the WEZ Congestion charge (Western Extension Zone) may not be scrapped after all.  This would be bad news for local traders in on the pheriphery of the WEZ but mostly in Hammersmith and Fulham.

The London Mayor has a 350 page Transport Strategy consultation  document which threatens to derail scrapping WEZ - this consultation was launched in October and runs through till January 12 2010.

The Mayor announced that he was committed to scrapping the C Charge last November, when it was reported by Transport for London (TfL) that 67% of residents and 86% of businesses wanted this scrapped.

Although the charge is lucrative for TfL, raising £70m pa, there has been no effect on congestion in Hammersmith and Fulham (H&F).  Prior to the WEZ, TfL showed that H&F lost 7.6M hours pa in traffic, the highest in the capital. Three years later, H&F still has the most congested roads in the capital.

It seems that Londoners have already been asked about the extension and a clear majority want it scrapped. This second consultation had not been envisaged but according to Nicholas Botterill (H&F Councillor) said "a third consultation  is also on the cards, if Londoners give the same answer as last time".  It sounds like Europeans voting on the Lisbon Treaty.

In an email sent to the council, Kulveer Ranger - TfL's Director for Transport Policy - wrote: "If the proposal, in the draft Transport Strategy, to remove the WEZ is confirmed, a variation order will be made to remove the WEZ. However, further public consultation on the variation order would be required. If this is confirmed then the removal of the WEZ is likely to take place by December 2010."

So this'll have nothing to do with the cosy handover from the existing C Charge administrators to the new one (IBM) in December 2010.  According to Helena Matuszak of TFL "The earliest any changes could cost effectively be introduced would be following the change of Congestion Charge service provider to IBM in 2010."

The consultation on the Mayor's Transport Strategy runs until 12 January, 2010. Residents can have their say by clicking on www.london.gov.uk/shaping-london/ or by calling 0800 093 5808. There is also a TfL consultation event at the W12 Shopping Centre on Friday 27 November, between 9:00am-7:00pm.