George and Vera Dowler’s home is positioned on the border of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in Eltham. Following the expansion of the ULEZ at the end of October, the couple faced a charge every time they drove their older cars past the traffic lights near their home.
“What is the difference between the air here and the air on the other side of the traffic lights?
“Also, I’ve been brought up around lorries and fumes, like thousands of other people. I’m 72 years of age, still fit as a fiddle.
“Surely it’s not the air, surely it’s the food that people eat. I just don’t get it all.
“I’ve got a perfectly good van that if they want to use it on the other side of that roundabout.
This means she can escape the cameras used to monitor cars entering the zone, which are placed on top of the traffic lights.
She questioned London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s climate credentials saying: “What about the new F1 racing? It’s absolutely crazy!”
This comes as Sadiq Khan is looking to stage an F1 Grand Prix race in the East End, the second UK location for Formula One after Silverstone in Northamptonshire.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “We know toxic air pollution in London leads to 4,000 premature deaths a year, stunts the growth of children’s lungs and worsens chronic illnesses, such as asthma.
“The bold action taken by Sadiq since he became Mayor has already led to a 94 percent reduction in the number of Londoners living in areas that exceed the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels and the gap between the most and least deprived areas for exposure to nitrogen dioxide has narrowed by up to 50 percent.
“Eighty seven percent of cars seen travelling in the expanded zone already meet the standards and to help more Londoners switch to cleaner vehicles, Sadiq has invested £61million in scrappage schemes, which have helped replace or retrofit more than 12,000 vehicles since 2019.”
Additional reporting by Kiro Evans.