Keston so reliant on cars it is 'proud' of ULEZ vandals

Keston sits in Bromley borough, just a 10 minute drive from the Kent border.

While the area is a short bus from Bromley town centre, some feel the vast open fields and greenery resemble more of a countryside town than a London suburb.

Ben Ryan, 46, has lived in Keston for two and a half years.

He said that while many think of the area as an extension of Kent, he will always see it as outer London.

Croydon Road runs through Keston

Mr Ryan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It doesn’t really make a big difference. We get charged just the same as every other Londoner in this area, and we always have been.

"I would say most of the people in Bromley are from London anyway. They’re not from Bromley, they’re from inner London and have come out. “

The local said the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to outer London last month has affected his business of local restaurants.

The charge, brought in by the Mayor of London, requires motorists whose vehicles are not deemed environmentally friendly enough to pay a daily £12.50 charge to drive in the capital.

The controversial scheme has led to numerous cameras relating to the expansion being damaged, with the BBC reporting that over 300 of the cameras were vandalised or stolen between April and mid-August.

Mr Ryan said he has noticed several cameras in Bromley borough being damaged in recent months.

He said: “Obviously we’ve got the warriors in Bromley who are doing a good job, shall we say? I back them to be honest, they’re doing what they need to do.

"It makes you proud to be a South East Londoner. It is what South East London’s about. If they don’t like something they will soon tell you about it and do something about it.”

Dave Gardner, 75, has lived in Keston since 1985.

While he is opposed to ULEZ, he does not approve of the campaign to destroy the scheme’s cameras.

Mr Gardner told the LDRS: “It’s cost an enormous amount of money to set this up because there are people going around vandalising them all.

"They’ve all got to be put right again, that’s all going to come out of our money… I cannot agree with it, but I can understand it.”

The resident said he had to sell his 18-year-old van due to it not being ULEZ-compliant, despite it passing its MOT every year and being in “perfectly good” condition.

While he realises the scheme will benefit Londoners in the long run, he feels that it has been brought in at the “worst possible time”.

He said: “I don’t think he’s thought about the people in London when he’s brought this in… In the middle of London, they’ve got an argument to make regarding the cleaner air.

"But outside of London, around here, I don’t think it’s going to make any difference at all. But what it has done is it has affected a lot of people who are not wealthy.”

He added: “I’m not against the law because we’re all going to benefit from this but I think his timing and his attitude of fetching it in is all wrong.

"I think he could have done it a lot slower and with more compassion.”

The local also said he was happy to see Bromley Council legally challenging the ULEZ expansion this year in a coalition with the London boroughs of Bexley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey County Council.

The High Court ruled the scheme as lawful on July 28, with Bromley Council reportedly spending at least £140,000 on the failed case.

Mr Gardner said: “I was proud of them. I was proud that someone had the guts to stick their head out over the parapet and say the people of this borough are against it.”

Guy Sims, 57, works at Keston Car Care and feels that drivers don’t have to go far before they’re in the countryside. He said most people in the area already have a car that complies with ULEZ regulations, but some drivers choose to just pay the daily charge if their vehicles are not considered suitable.

He told the LDRS: “It is there for a very good reason, but people feel it’s unfair. [They say,] ‘Why do we need it in leafy Keston?

"Why should we be tarred with inner city pollution?’ But they’ve got to draw the line somewhere really.”

He added: “I do a lot of cycling and you’ve only got to get behind someone who’s put their foot down and it’s horrendous. That’s just the diesel smog, isn’t it?”

Conservative Councillor Thomas Turrell, who represents the Hayes & Coney Hall ward for Bromley Council, told the LDRS: “This Mayor doesn’t understand outer London and the ULEZ demonstrates it.

"More rural parts of Bromley like Keston and Biggin Hill have a limited bus service and no other forms of public transport.”

Cllr Turrell added that the new Superloop bus service, a set of express bus routes launched by TfL this year, does not include Biggin Hill and Keston in their routes.

Bromley Council leader Colin Smith told the LDRS that the authority considered Bromley borough to have some of the cleanest air in London.

Cllr Smith said: “I have been warning about the damage [ULEZ] will cause to businesses, jobs and vital care networks across outer London for over a year now, yet still the Mayor ploughs on, seemingly oblivious to the widespread pain and misery that he is causing to so many people.”

He added: “Our residents can be assured that the fight to get this shameful tax reversed is far from over.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London previously told the LDRS: “The Mayor has been clear that while the decision to expand ULEZ was an incredibly difficult one, he could not stand by and do nothing while around 4,000 Londoners are dying prematurely each year due to air pollution, children are growing up with stunted lungs and thousands of people in our city are developing life-changing illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.”

They added that nine out of ten cars seen driving in outer London are reportedly already compliant with the ULEZ scheme. They also said that the Mayor will continue to call on the Government to provide additional funding to motorists wishing to switch to greener vehicles.

The Mayor of London was approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.