Baby charity: Sadiq's Ulez plan may drive us out of business
Baby charity: Sadiq’s Ulez plan may drive us out of business
- The Baby Bank HQ has supported to hundreds of families in London’s East End
- But its future is uncertain as Sadiq Khan expands the Ultra Low Emission Zone
- It does not qualify for exemptions as donors carry goods and not people
A charity supplying baby food, clothes, cots and toys to the poorest mothers in London fears it will close because of Sadiq Khan’s controversial clean-air scheme.
The Baby Bank HQ has helped hundreds of families in the East End, but its future has been thrown into doubt as the London mayor expands his Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) into the outer boroughs of the capital at the end of next month.
The charity collects goods from donors and delivers them to families in a diesel Vauxhall van which is not Ulez-compliant, and so the charity will have to pay £12.50 every day for any journeys.
Officials say it does not qualify for exemption under charity rules because the vehicle carries goods rather than people.
It is among hundreds of organisations in the capital that face closure or severe loss because of Ulez, which, according to one study will cost the economy more than £800 million.
SPECIAL LIFELINE: Workers at The Baby Bank HQ sort out supplies (pictured)
READ MORE: Key Transport for London claim that 9 in 10 drivers would be unaffected by ULEZ expansion is unsubstantiated
The charity, based in Havering, East London, is desperately trying to raise £5,000 for a Ulez-compliant van, but has so far raised just £55 on its GoFundMe page.
Co-founder Kelly Rosevear, a serving Met Police officer, said: ‘The Ulez zone should not have been expanded this far out.
‘We have seen the number of people turning to us double because of the cost-of-living crisis. But if Ulez reduces our service, there just isn’t another charity that does what we are doing around here.’
Last week, five outer London boroughs launched a High Court challenge against Ulez’s expansion. Howard Cox, a London mayoral candidate and founder of the pressure group Fair Fuel UK, said: ‘Not only will Khan’s needless Ulez plans shrink London’s economy by £800 million per year, the harm to sole traders, High Streets and charitable organisations will be catastrophic, even terminal.’
A spokesman for Mr Khan said: ‘The mayor has been clear that the decision to expand Ulez was not an easy one, but necessary to tackle toxic air pollution.’
Source: Read Full Article
