Ulez enforcement camera van slapped with £110 fine for ‘illegal pavement parking’
TfL said it would be reminding its contractors of the road rules
X/James Giles
An enforcement van used to monitor vehicles for the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London has been hit with a £110 fine for “illegal parking”.
The Ulez scheme was expanded in August to include all of Greater London, with an estimated 700,000 extra vehicles now included in the charging area.
To deal with the enforcement, mobile camera vans have been placed around London to monitor whether vehicles are in breach of the Ulez rules.
However, an enforcement van has fallen short of road rules and been slapped with a £110 penalty charge notice for illegally parking on the pavement.
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The van was first spotted by James Giles, an independent borough councillor for New Malden in Kingston, who saw the van in south-west London.
He said the vehicle was obstructing a pedestrian crossing and that officers were “not above the law”.
There has been an increasing number of enforcement vans seen on roads to deal with vandals cutting down Ulez cameras.
James Giles said he was walking to attend a morning meeting with residents when he saw the van drive across a pedestrian crossing and stop on the pavement.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the councillor said: “Whatever your views on Ulez, it is entirely inappropriate and unacceptable for enforcement vans to be illegally parking on Kingston’s streets.
“Today, a mobile camera van was illegally parked on the Cambridge Road in Norbiton. I requested one of Kingston’s parking officers come out to inspect and issue a penalty notice. This was done swiftly.
“I have written to the Mayor to urge him to instruct Ulez vans to stop parking illegally in Kingston borough.”
Anyone with a non-compliant petrol or diesel vehicle faces a £12.50 daily charge to drive inside the scheme as Mayor Sadiq Khan looks to cut emissions.
A spokesperson for Transport for London said: “TfL fully supports the use of highway authority powers to enforce against parking in unauthorised locations.
"We will remind our contractor, who will be paying the penalty charge notice.”
This includes 200 reports of cameras being stolen and 595 cameras being damaged as drivers vent their frustrations at the expansion.
A number of people have been arrested in connection to the damage being done to Ulez cameras around the capital.
The Met launched an operation in May to respond to Ulez-related crimes, with the police force urging people to avoid causing damage to the cameras.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Almost 800 Ulez crimes have been committed since April
PA
Many have associated the vigilante action with the so-called “Blade Runners”, who have been cutting down and stealing cameras since August.