People on Ulez 'free' road offered £100 a month to park on drives

Residents inside charge-free corridor in ULEZ expansion zone say they are being offered up to £100-A-MONTH by motorists who want to park on their drives to avoid paying the £12.50 fee

• Drivers travelling on Moor Lane, in Chessington, don’t have to pay the charge 

Desperate motorists trying to avoid having to pay out for Sadiq Khan’s hated Ulez zone are offering people living along a ‘charge-free corridor’ ‘£100 a month’ to park on their driveways.  

Those travelling into London would save more than £250 a month if they parked along Moor Lane, in Chessington, south-west London.  

Drivers travelling along the road, which becomes Bridge Road, do not have to pay the Ulez charge, but should they turn off at any stage they will immediately enter the zone.

People leaving the suburban street to access a train station, pub car park and numerous businesses will have to pay the £12.50 charge if their vehicle does not meet emissions standards.

It means motorists travelling along the route must stay on the road, drive all the way round a roundabout and go back the same way to avoid being charged.

Those travelling into London would save more than £250 a month if they instead parked along Moor Lane, in Chessington, south-west London

One person said a man offered him and his neighbours £100 a month to park on his driveway and make the most of the charge-free corridor

Drivers travelling along the road, which becomes Bridge Road, do not have to pay the Ulez charge, but should they turn off at any stage they will immediately enter the zone

The town of Chessington, part of the London borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, will be included in the Ulez expansion when it comes into force from August 29.

READ MORE: Residents’ fury as ULEZ camera is erected in the middle of their quiet cul-de-sac leaving them facing £12.50 charge simply for leaving their ‘little road nobody knows about’ 

Many surrounding areas will not be included in the charge, meaning Chessington will form something of a ‘Ulez island’.

Vispi Irani, 68, who lives on Bridge Road, told the PA news agency a man offered him and his neighbours £100 a month to park on his driveway and make the most of the charge-free corridor.

Mr Irani said: ‘I think it’s [Ulez charge] ridiculous.

‘We don’t have to pay it on the road where we live, but I’m planning on changing my car, so I won’t have to pay it for the others.

‘A chap came round and put notes through my and my neighbours’ doors.

‘He was offering £100 a month to let him park on our drive so he could get around paying the charge.

‘I don’t know how he was planning to get here. I guess he would use public transport.

‘We have a big drive so I gave him a call, but he didn’t answer.’

The controversial scheme is set to force Londoners to pay an incredible £12.50-a-day to drive in the capital from August 29, if their cars don’t meet certain environmental standards

The town of Chessington, part of the London borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, will be included in the Ulez expansion when it comes into force

People leaving the suburban street to access a train station, pub car park and numerous businesses will have to pay the £12.50 charge if their vehicle does not meet emissions standards

A Chessington business owner said being located on the border of the expanded zone had left his staff in a ‘no-win situation’.

Tony Oak, 46, has run a waste clearance firm in the area for nearly three years.

READ MORE Fury over Sadiq Khan’s mobile ULEZ units which could close ‘loophole’ drivers use to avoid being clobbered by fines – meaning there is NO escape from £12.50 penalties

His business is based around 300ft outside the new Ulez zone, but says all four of his employees will have to travel through it to get to work, and cannot afford to update their cars.

Mr Oak said: ‘My staff will have to pay £12.50 every day they come to work. That’s about £4,000 a year.

‘They feel they are effectively working an extra hour for nothing. One of my employees is considering working elsewhere because of the added cost.

‘We’re completely surrounded by the zone, it’s a no-win situation. There’s no bus you can get to here. The nearest bus stop is half a mile away.

‘We travel inside and outside of the zone during work hours. That’s a cost we pass on to the customer.

‘We can’t afford to get new company vehicles, it just all adds up. We’ve looked into electric vehicles in the past but they don’t have the range – we do too many miles every day.

‘Then there’s the cost of having chargers fitted. I know a lot of the other businesses around here are having the same problem.’

A window fitter, who owns a salesroom just off Bridge Road and did not wish to be named, said he is unsure whether his premises is inside the zone or not.

People living in Headley Close, Chessington, were left furious when a Ulez camera was installed down their quiet cul-de-sac 

Many lashed out at Transport for London’s (TfL) ‘stupid’ decision to place one of the Mayor of London’s Ulez cameras on ‘a little road nobody knows about’ 

‘Officially, we’re not in the zone but there’s a camera just across the road so it might catch you. I’m really not sure,’ he said.

‘Luckily, my van is exempt because of its age – just. Even though this road is not in the zone, you just can’t avoid it round here.

‘It seems to only affect the poorest people. If you turn off to go to the shops or something like that you’ll be in the zone.

READ MORE: Moment anti-ULEZ ‘Blade Runner’ brazenly sabotages camera using a tree lopper – as underground activists wage campaign to bring down Sadiq Khan’s low-emission monitors 

‘Deliveries to my shop will be more expensive when we’re in the zone. The cost will go on our bill.’

David, 83, a retired health worker who did not wish to give his surname, lives in the new zone area.

He said: ‘What’s the benefit? It’s a money-making gadget.

‘I know electricians who aren’t going to work in this area anymore because of the new zone.

‘It’s all people talk about round here, they’re angry about it and moaning. If you turn anywhere off Bridge Road left or right you have to pay.

‘People should have a choice.’

Last week, the MailOnline exclusively revealed how neighbours were left furious when a Ulez camera was installed down a quiet cul-de-sac in Chessington. 

People living in Headley Close, in Chessington, will be snapped every time they leave their homes to go to work in the morning and when they return – much to their fury. 

Many have lashed out at Transport for London’s (TfL) ‘stupid’ decision to place one of the Mayor of London’s Ulez cameras on ‘a little road nobody knows about’.   

In reaction, a TfL spokesperson said: ‘London has made significant progress over the last six years in improving air quality, but it sadly remains the case that thousands of Londoners die prematurely each year as a result of toxic pollution. 

‘Children are growing up with stunted lungs and thousands of people in our city are developing life-changing illnesses due to pollution, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.

‘The purpose of the Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion is to enable everyone in London to breathe cleaner air. More than 2,000 cameras are being installed across the whole of the Ulez to support compliance and ensure the effectiveness of the scheme. 

‘We will continue to review Ulez camera locations to ensure they are supporting meeting the scheme’s main objective, which is cleaning up the capital’s toxic air.

‘We are already seeing 90 per cent of cars seen driving across outer London on an average day complying with the standards and expect this to be even higher when the scheme goes live. Non-compliant stationary cars are not liable for Ulez charges.’

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