A £23 million diesel scrappage scheme was launched by London Mayor Sadiq Khan at the end of last month. The aim is to get small businesses and charities to switch to cleaner vehicles ahead of the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which comes into force this April.
In a bid to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution in the city, older, polluting diesel and petrol vehicles face a daily charge for entering the zone.
So who is eligible for this scrappage scheme?
If you are a micro business and can prove you are registered at an address in a London borough or the City of London and have the following:
- 10 or fewer employees;
- up to £632k turnover OR up to £316k balance sheet total in the preceding and current financial year; and
- Companies House registration as an active company in the UK OR be VAT registered in the UK.
Charities must be an entity registered with the Charity Commission as an active charity.
Vehicles that qualify for the London scrappage scheme
Any vehicles intended to scrap through the scheme must be:
- a van or minibus owned by a registered micro business, or charity, for more than 12 calendar months before 22nd February 2019;
- insured for business use;
- road taxed with a valid MOT; and
- scrapped at an approved Authorised Treatment Facility.
Organisations switching to electric vehicles will receive £6,000 to help with the running costs of a new zero emission vehicle, in addition to grants of up to £8,000 available through the government’s Plug-in Grant Scheme.
Those that choose to replace the old vehicle with a new ULEZ compliant Euro 6 vehicle or alternatively join a rental or car-sharing scheme, will receive a payment of £3,500. The same sum is also available for organisations that choose not to replace their old vehicles.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said, “To get a grip on London’s lethal air and protect public health we need to rid our streets of the most polluting vehicles,”
He also said, “Air pollution is now widely recognised as a national health crisis that is stunting the lung development of our children and leading to thousands of premature deaths,” he said. “We need government ministers to help fund a national scrappage scheme targeted at cities across the UK that will support all motorists to ditch their polluting cars, and help clean our filthy air once and for all.”
It will be interesting to find out if during this period up to the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), if ATFs in the south see a sudden influx of vehicles to be scrapped due to the scheme, if you do, let us know at info@atfpro.co.uk
Sources:
