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Consultation
May 2005
Transport for London (TfL) is currently consulting on whether or not to extend the current congestion charge zone into the Royal Borough. The Council’s current view on the extension of the charging zone is that it is premature and that if it should proceed then the entire borough should be included with a boundary at the West London Railway Line.
In January 2005 the Mayor of London bowed to extensive pressure from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and agreed that every Kensington and Chelsea resident, will get the full 90 per cent discount if the extension goes ahead.
The Council, however, remains concerned that the Mayor of London continues to develop the proposals for an extension to the congestion charging scheme despite the very high level of opposition from local residents and businesses and from Londoners as a whole.
With the proposals under fire from councils, business groups and prominent transport experts, the Council believes the Mayor should rethink his proposal – or at least agree to hold a public inquiry.
May 2005
If the Mayor decides to go ahead with the extension, the earliest the scheme could start would be spring 2007. Those affected would be drivers entering or travelling within the central London and extended zone between 7am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday (if the extension goes ahead the current end time of 6.30pm would be brought forward). The congestion charge would not operate during Public Holidays, all the days between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
If you were to drive within the expanded charging zone (other then the exempted roads listed above) during charging hours, you would be liable to pay the charge.
The charge would be payable; daily (£8), weekly (£40), monthly (£136) or annually (£1696 ). These figures allow for a discount on the monthly and annual payment.
If possible pay the congestion charge in advance. If you enter the charge zone without advance payment you will have to ensure that the charge is paid before 10pm on the day as, the charge increases to £10 between 10pm and midnight.
At midnight, any vehicle spotted by TfL as having been in the zone during the charging hours without paying must pay a penalty charge of £100. This is reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
It is proposed to extended the scheme to include the area to the western zone, broadly bound by Harrow Road, the West Cross Route, the Earls Court One Way System and Chelsea Embankment.
The Inner Ring road, as a route around the current charging zone would stay free-of-charge. You would only need to pay the charge if you travelled inside it or inside the western extension zone.
There will be no charge for using these boundary routes, the elevated section of the A40 (Westway) or the western part of the inner ring road.
View the boundary of the proposed congestion charging zone, download a Map of the enlarge congestion charge zones [PDF file] (File size 494 Kb)
The Council has lobbied hard on behalf of its residents and won significant concessions from TfL. Consequently, under the current proposal all residents of the Royal Borough regardless of whether they live in or outside the proposed extension zone, would be eligible for a 90 per cent residents discount.
Residents’ discounts would be available for weekly, monthly and annual payments. The residents discounted charge cannot be paid daily. It is payable by weekly charge of £4, monthly charge costing £16 or an annual charge costing £201.60.
May 2005
So what do you think of the proposal to increase the charge? Moreover, have you told TfL?
All residents in the Royal Borough, as well as, residents within a 3km radius around the proposed zone are being consulted on the proposed extension. If you have not received the questionnaire let TfL and the Council know.
You can also make your views on the extension proposal known, by accessing the leaflet and questionnaire through the methods below:
Please note: The Questionnaires are no longer available as the consultation is complete.
Completed questionnaires should be returned to:
Freepost RLUA-CUHG-JGKL
Congestion Charging
Western Extension Consultation
Cheswick gate
598-608 Chiswick High Road
London W4 5RT
For a hard copy of the consultation documents please call TfL on 0800 028 54 70 (text phone 0800 0281 54 71). The lines are open between 0800-2100 on weekdays and 1000-1600 on weekends and public holidays.
The Consultation on the scheme runs from 9 May to 15 July 2005.
May 2005
After three months of public consultation, the Mayor of London has decided to go ahead with his proposed charge increase. From 4 July 2005, the daily charge will rise from £5 to £8 – an increase of 60 per cent. Discounts will be available for monthly and annual payments.
The Mayor has made this decision in the face of what the Council believes is an overwhelming case against the proposal. Moreover, he has done so against the wishes of over 70 per cent of Londoners consulted and of a majority of businesses.
The consultation on the western extension makes clear that any changes implemented in the existing central London scheme, will also be applied to the western extension.
Consequently, the decision to proceed with the charge increase will have a direct impact on the Royal Borough if Mr Livingstone decides to go ahead with the western extension of the central zone.
May 2005
Transport for London conducted a preliminary consultation with 33 London Boroughs and about 80 ‘key stakeholders’. The consultation ended on 22 February. Following the consultation the Mayor has decided to proceed with his proposal, and a 10-week period of formal public consultation has commenced. The consultation will be running from the 9 May - 15 July 2005.
By Autumn 2005, the Mayor should be in a position to announce his final decision as to whether TfL should proceed with the implementation of the extension. If he does, the earliest that the extension could be implemented would be early 2007.
January 2005
The Council has campaigned extensively against the Mayor of London’s proposal to extend the congestion charge scheme to the Royal Borough, since the Mayor proposed it in 2003. Letters and objections have been sent to the Mayor of London and the TfL board. See Leader's letter to TfL Board [PDF file] (File size 41 Kb)
The Council’s position has been to reject the extension as premature, not least because the effects on business are not yet fully understood. The Council has repeatedly stated that should the Mayor of London decide to proceed with an extension, then the whole Borough should be included in the charge zone and every Royal Borough resident should receive a 90 per cent residents’ discount.
In January 2005 the Council won a partial victory for residents, when the Mayor amended his extension scheme by proposing that every Royal Borough resident receive a 90 per cent discount whether or not they are included in the proposed charging zone. See press release Mayor bows to Kensington and Chelsea pressure.
February 2004
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea carried out a survey on Congestion Charging in February 2004. Download and read the results RBKC Congestion Charging Survey Results [PDF file] (File size 211Kb).
For more information read the:
If you wish to send the Council your comments about congestion charging please email congestioncharge.comments@rbkc.gov.uk.
For further information about the current Central London Congestion Charging Scheme visit the Congestion Charging website.
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