It was announced earlier this week that the Mayor of London has added an additional £5m to the Ulez scrappage scheme fund. However, London ATF, Gordon Grove Metal Company (GGMC), warns this will soon be used up due to pent up demand.
The Ulez scheme offers disabled or low-income Londoners £2,000 to scrap a non-Ulez compliant car and £1,000 to scrap a non-Ulez compliant motorcycle or moped. This is part of the Mayor of London’s vow to reduce the toxic air in London, bringing the total amount Sadiq Khan has set aside for the scheme to £61m.
However, as the deadline for the Ulez expansion fast approaches on October 25, GGMC warns the money will soon be used up. Ulez is to expand from central London to the boundaries of the North and South Circular roads and there will be a daily charge of £12.50 for non-compliant vehicles. The charge will be 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Craig Barnaby, Managing Director of Gordon Grove Metal Company, said:
“We have seen such huge demand for this scheme, we are constantly called by people asking for Certificates of Destruction so they can make use of it.
Many people were upset last year when the scheme was suspended due to over demand so people will have to be quick if they still want to benefit. There may still be a backlog of people who missed out the first time.”
With just over three months until the Ulez expands, the extra £5m will allow an additional minimum of 2,500 Londoners to benefit and replace their vehicle with the scrappage scheme. Diesel vehicles require a Euro 6 engine to comply, and petrol vehicles require a Euro 4 engine. Roughly speaking, this means that diesel vehicles first registered after 2015 and petrol vehicles registered after 2005 will not have to pay the charge.
The Ulez scheme has so far seen almost 10,000 vehicles, including many vans, taken off the road due to different TfL schemes. However, it’s estimated 100,000 cars, 35,000 vans and 3,000 lorries will still have to pay for the daily charges.
Visit Gordon Grove Metal Company (GGMC) at www.ggmc.co.uk