Fury as ULEZ camera is erected in the middle of their quiet cul-de-sac
EXCLUSIVE 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’
- People living in Headley Close, in Chessington, say TfL decisions is ‘stupid’
- They take aim at Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emission zone expansion
A ULEZ camera bizarrely placed in a dead-end cul-de-sac ‘nobody knows about’ has enraged neighbours who will now be charged £12.50 every time they wheel off their driveway.
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 Sadiq Khan’s hated ULEZ cameras on ‘a little road nobody knows about’.
Headley Close has a row of garages at one end of the street, mainly used by van drivers, and is situated in the borough of Kingston where the controversial ultra-low emission zone will spread to on August 29.
But a boundary anomaly means when they exit the street onto Chessington Road they will be in leafy Surrey, in the borough of Epsom and Ewell.
People living in Headley Close, Chessington, in the borough of Kingston are irate about a ULEZ camera which has been placed in their tiny cul-de-sac ‘nobody knows about’
British Airways flight attendant Julie Green said her partner, who lives in Kent, has a non-compliant car and ‘will probably park over the road’
Gary Schoard was visiting his brother, Rod, and is considering scrapping his car. He took aim at Sadiq Khan’s £2,000 scrappage payment which won’t cover the cost of a new car
The border also sees a part of the A3 Kingston bypass in the Surrey borough cutting between the low-emission boundary to leave Chessington on a ‘ULEZ island’.
Quite why a camera has been placed facing the entry of the road has left many people livid with the technology set to be switched on in under two weeks.
Those with non-compliant vehicles – most commonly those registered before 2006 for petrol and 2014 for diesel – will now be £12.50 out of pocket every day their tyres make contact with and exit the road.
The feelings among those who live in the 30 red-brick homes in the quiet road are epitomised in a nearby street where a ULEZ camera has been beheaded, modus operandi of a Blade Runner.
Beneath it are two cardboard signs strapped to the pole, which read: ‘Our local hero! Top man. Thank you! Up yours Khan!’
With the other reading: ‘Whoever did this we owe you a pint. Cheers mate.’
A middle finger has been drawn, followed by: ‘Swivel on that Kahn.’
Headley Close resident Svet Vas has already spent between £60,000 and £70,000 to replace three of his 2016 vans for his building company to ensure he meets the Mayor of London’s ULEZ rules.
Lee Pattemore lived on the street six years ago, and now uses the garage to support his business A Build Above. He said he is out of pocket because his two vans now cost him £12.50 to use
Pam, 83, (left) with her neighbour Rowena (right). Pam thinks the decision to place the ANPR in the road is ‘crazy’ and believes they’ve been picked out as they are the last road before the ULEZ border ends and enters Epsom and Ewell in Surrey
But that still won’t be enough to escape the charge all because of his hobby.
Mr Vas uses a trailer to transport his modified Land Rover to dirt tracks. But as it is too large for the small street he drives the old 4×4 from his driveway, about 32ft up the cul-de-sac, and loads it up onto the trailer there.
He thinks the non-ULEZ-compliant vehicle’s massive tyres spend about 35 seconds on the road, but he will still be charged £12.50 each time.
The van toeing the trailer and off-roader is well-within Mr Kahn’s proscribed eco limit.
‘I spent thousands and thousands of pounds modifying so I could put it on the trailer, so I’m legal with the police, with everyone – and then I can’t even unload it now,’ he said.
‘You can’t even do your hobby because of one thing. I drive 32ft and that’s [£12.50], for no reason whatsoever.
‘There are old people here and they’re going to have to park on the other road.
‘I’m fortunate to make a good living, but there’s a lot of people that can’t afford cars like that.
Quite why a camera has been placed facing the entry of the road has left many people livid with the technology set to be switched on in under two weeks
The camera points towards the entry and exit of the street. Those with non-compliant vehicles – registered before 2006 for petrol and 2014 for diesel – will now be £12.50 out of pocket
People living in the road will be snapped every time they leave their homes to go to work in the morning and when they return much to their fury
The picture people living in Headley Close are faced with every time they enter their street in order to get to their home
‘The guys that were building it said to me that they found three or four cars that were non-ULEZ, and that’s why they put it in [the camera].’
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
However, a 47-year-long resident believes the road has been selected as it is the last before London Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames becomes Epsom and Ewell, which isn’t within the charge zone.
The 83-year-old, who asked to be named only as Pam, said: ‘It’s crazy, it’s crazy, I can’t see why – here we are a little road that nobody knows about on the edge of the area.
‘That’s why I think they’ve done it, because that fence is the border to Epsom, so we’re the last road in the borough of Kingston.’
Gary Schoard was standing next to his non-compliant pick-up truck when he spoke with the MailOnline and said he would have to consider scrapping his car.
He does not live in the borough and was visiting his brother, Rod – a pleasure which will cost him £12.50 in two weeks time.
The builder will have to work for another four or five years before he retires, and took aim at Mr Khan’s £2,000 scrappage payment which won’t cover the cost of a new car.
He said: ‘I’ve got to get rid of this soon, I’ve got another two weeks to scrap it – it’s old now, so I put in for it [to be scrapped].
The feelings among those who live in the 30 red-brick homes in the quiet road are epitomised in a nearby street where a ULEZ camera has been beheaded
Beneath it are two cardboard signs strapped to the pole. One reads: ‘Whoever did this we owe you a pint. Cheers mate.’ A middle finger swear has been drawn, followed by: ‘Swivel on that Kahn’
On the other cardboard sign ‘Our local hero! Top man. Thank you! Up yours Khan!’. The camera being removed is the same as the technique used by the Blade Runners
‘I don’t know why they bothered putting [the camera] down there. Residents can go out their driveway but can’t get out of this close.
‘There’s a lot of fuss about it, no one really agrees with it.
‘I’ve got another car as well that’s not ULEZ, so I’ve got to do something about that too.’
He suggested he might sell his vehicle on the south coast, because it could fetch around £10,000 versus the £7,000 he expects he could get from scrapping it through Mr Kahn’s scheme.
Rod added: ‘We’re not affected by it because our cars are compliant, but I just think it’s a really bad idea – it affects too many people who need it for work.
‘Although the idea of it is okay, I suppose, to save lives, it’s not been thought through. It should be differentiated; I think they should separate workers from casual drivers.
‘I’m sure they could have done. I don’t agree with it.
‘All the houses are in the London Borough of Kingston-Upon-Thames, we pay our council tax to Kingston, although it’s the postal district for Epsom.
‘All the residents are going to have to pay out every time, and visitors. What can you do?’
A 47-year-long resident believes the road has been selected as it is the last before London Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames becomes Epsom and Ewell, which isn’t within the charge zone
Another resident, who would not be named, was another left confused about its location.
She said: ‘Why is it here? It doesn’t make sense because we’re on the border so they’re going to try and collar people who maybe have come from Epsom and Ewell into here.
READ MORE: New ULEZ cameras with ‘increased security’ are rolled out with countermeasures to stop wires being cut – as TFL strikes back in battle against ‘Blade Runners’ who sabotage low-emission monitors
‘It’s the wrong time to do things like this, and if this succeeds then it will go right around the country won’t it?
‘It just doesn’t make sense to me.’
Landscaper Lee Pattemore lived on the street six years ago, and now uses the garage to support his business A Build Above.
He said he is out of pocket because his two vans now cost him £12.50 to use. One is just six months too old.
He suspected the council’s ‘stupid’ decision to erect the camera on Headley Close could be to target the van drivers who use the garages.
He said: ‘It’s out of order really. Both vans I’ve got are affected by it – I’ve got this van, and I’ve got a 16 plate, six months out. So that’s really annoying.
‘Four years ago it cost me £18,000, at the moment I have to pay. It affects business, I can’t put it [the extra cost] on council jobs, because they’re all scheduled rates, but the private jobs it’s going to have to go to the customer. Otherwise I’m out of pocket.
‘It’s absolutely stupid, not being funny but this is a postcode for Epsom. When I lived here nobody knew if it was Kingston or Epsom, but it’s Kingston, Kingston bills and council tax.
People living on Headley Close will drive into the borough of Epsom and Ewell and onto Chessington Road when they exit the street
The ultra-low emission boundary means Chessington has been put on a ‘ULEZ island’. The area in green shows where the ULEZ zone will expand to on August 29. It is surrounded by two Surrey boroughs, Epsom and Ewell on the right and to the left is Elmbridge
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
‘All the houses [over the road] are Epsom.
‘They want to make money. It’s probably because of guys like us with vans. A lot of other old people over there, they’ve probably got old cars.’
Another resident said she wasn’t aware the camera had been installed and recently looked out of the window wondering what it was.
Julie Green is a newly qualified British Airways flight-attendant who only hosted her first voyage this week.
Her partner, who lives in Kent, has a non-compliant car.
She said: ‘I don’t know why it’s there to be quite honest. My partner will probably park over the road. Or it leaves me driving up to Kent all the time.
‘I was surprised when I saw it. It’s a bit ironic, the other roads don’t even have the cameras up – they’ve got the pole, but no cameras.’
The MailOnline has contacted Tfl and the Mayor of London’s office for comment.
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