Hammersmith MP hopeful says scrap C-Charge

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Charge has created a 'Berlin Wall' between borough and central London

Hammersmith MP hopeful Shaun Bailey has thrown his weight behind a campaign to scrap the Western extension of the congestion charge.

Mr Bailey, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hammersmith, said that the extension of the congestion charging zone has affected those living close to the border in Hammersmith and Fulham just as much as those living inside the proposed zone.

He said: “The charge causes terrible congestion in my part of London, Hammersmith. Shepherd's Bush Green is essentially a car park now.

“Worse, it's like a Berlin Wall between us and Kensington. It's a barrier to families from taking their kids to a school just over the border, to the success of local small business and to the expectant mother needing to get to Chelsea & Westminster's maternity unit.”

A five-week public consultation on the future of the Western Extension of the Congestion Charging zone began on September 1, thanks to London Mayor Boris Johnson.

It will give residents the chance to overturn former Mayor Ken Livingstone’s extension of the charging zone as far as Harrow Road, the West Cross Route, the Earls Court one way system and Chelsea Embankment.

Following the introduction of the Western Extension, Transport for London stated that traffic had fallen around 10 to 15 per cent in the extended zone.

Former Mayor Ken Livingstone championed the congestion charging zone as a way of reducing traffic, raising cash for public transportation and protecting the environment.

And Val Shawcross, a Labour member of the city's legislative assembly, has criticised London Mayor Boris Johnson's review, saying the congestion charge ``is a vital, forward-thinking weapon in the fight against climate change.''

September 18, 2008