Brentwood Borough Council has passed a motion opposing any expansion of London’s ULEZ zone and branded it a “tax grab” by Sadiq Khan.

The authority agreed on March 15 that the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) would be a “regressive tax inflicted upon the poorest motorists and is to the detriment of residents living here in Brentwood”.

The ULEZ is expanding to cover the whole of London from the end of August – leaving it extended to the border with Brentwood.

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Fears have been raised that ‘many people living in Essex will not go to London’ anymore if ULEZ expands. Residents have said that not everyone can afford to change their non-compliant vehicle during the current cost of living crisis.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s flagship clean-air policy zone is a designated area where people driving vehicles which cause the most pollution have to pay a daily fee of £12.50 – typically affecting older cars.

The expanded plans, however, will affect people living in areas such as Barking, Ilford, Romford, Hornchurch and Rainham.

Conservative Cllr Keith Barber, who proposed the motion said: “This proposal will impact many residential drivers and small businesses who cannot afford to upgrade their vehicles in the timeline planned by the Mayor of London.

“According to AutoTrader the average cost of a ULEZ compliant vehicle is now £18,295 and the Mayor of London is only offering a maximum of £2,000 to eligible residents in central London.

“The application of that scrappage allowance is highly limited to a small group of individuals and won’t benefit the vast majority of people affected. It also represents a small percentage of the cost of a replacement vehicle.

“We all want to see air quality improve over time and the government as already set ambitious targets to switch to electric cars over the coming years. This is truly a “sledge hammer to crack a nut” that will have perverse outcomes for many Brentwood residents.

“If you live in Brentwood and need to drive to Harold Hill to support an elderly relative and you don’t have a compliant car then you will have to pay the £12.50 daily charge. It is very unfair proposal and is a blatant tax grab by the London Mayor.”

Councillor Tim Barrett (Lab, Brentwood South) said more needed to be done to negotiate with London, including attempting to get Brentwood included in the scrappage scheme, by which eligible applicants can get up to £2,000 for scrapping a car or up to £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle as long as they live in London.

He said: “Whether I agree with ULEZ is inconsequential. It is up to London. It is outside our scope and control or sphere of influence. We do need to mitigate the effects on Brentwood and I believe like with the Northern Ireland deal, we achieve more with negotiation than grandstanding.

“We need to get round the table with Essex, London and the Government, which is permitting this expansion, to get further exemptions, maybe a transition period and inclusion of Brentwood in the scrappage scheme.”

The motion, which was passed, said: “Working people do not choose to drive older, more polluting vehicles out of choice.

“Placing an additional financial burden on them with a £12.50 charge every time that they need to use their cars to travel into Greater London will hit hard working families with a tax grab by the Mayor of London that will result in real hardship for those who need to work, travel to hospital or visit and support friends and relatives living within the proposed expanded zone but are unable afford to replace their cars.

“This Council opposes the expansion proposal and supports Essex County Council in not co-operating with the installation of any signage to support such an expansion.”

Sadiq Khan has said that toxic air caused by traffic is still leading to children growing up with stunted lungs and nearly 4,000 premature deaths a year – with the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution in London’s outer boroughs.

He added that a major new report showed that harmful pollution emissions have reduced by 26 per cent within the current ULEZ area – compared with what they would have been without the 2021 expansion coming into force.

In a letter to the PM in which he is calling for the Government to back ULEZ with scrappage cash for London and Home Counties, he said: “If no additional action is taken, it is estimated that around 550,000 more Londoners would develop diseases attributable to air pollution over the next 30 years – ruining lives, condemning a generation of children to ill-health and costing the NHS and social care system in the region of £10.4 billion.

“It is abundantly clear then that the cost of inaction is far too high and that further action is needed to safeguard public health and spare people unnecessary suffering.

“I’m simply not prepared to stand idly by while toxic fumes from highly polluting vehicles choke our communities and leave our children reaching for inhalers and gasping for air.

“That’s why I’ve chosen to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide. We know it will deliver cleaner air for five million more Londoners and save lives, particularly in the outer boroughs of London, where the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution currently occur.”

The ULEZ will expand across all London boroughs on August 29, 2023.