ULEZ expansion means parents and teachers at 27 schools on Kent border could be hit by daily charge

Parents and staff of more than 25 schools on the Kent-London border could be hit by daily ULEZ charges from the next academic year. An expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone is set to go ahead on August 29, bringing all London boroughs, including Bromley, Bexley and Lewisham, under the catchment area of the controversial scheme.

This would also bring ULEZ right up to the Kent border, sitting just outside the likes of Sevenoaks, Dartford and numerous other key areas to the north and west of Kent. It comes as thousands of pupils are expected to be enrolled at primary and secondary schools whose catchment areas span the boundary of Sadiq Khan’s proposed new Ultra Low Emission Zone.

KentLive has found that there are 27 schools, including in Oprington, Dartford and Erith, that cater to students between the ages of four and 16 within a rough kilometre distance of the new border. This means that parents of pupils at these schools are likely to cross into the ULEZ charge zone when they drop off and pick up their children.

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Staff and teachers meanwhile would be directly impacted while they commute to and from work, should their journey cross the border. There are also numerous nurseries along the same border that will be affected in the same way from, as well as colleges and sixth forms.

Kent County Council has previously raised concerns regarding the potential impact that the expansion could have. Back in February, KCC leader Roger Gough wrote to Sadiq Khan about the expansion, saying: “My council set out clearly our strong concerns about the consulted proposals in respect of both their spatial scope and the likely impact on Kent residents nearby to London.

“I understand that following your consultation, in November you decided to continue with the implementation of the ULEZ proposals in such a way that the impacts on Kent residents will not be mitigated.” Recently, a judge granted the historic Kent boroughs of Bromley and Bexley, alongside three other councils, the chance to put forward legal arguments against the ULEZ expansion.