‘Another kick in the teeth’, cry fans as beloved classic car festival cancelled after 40 years due to ULEZ expansion
A BELOVED car festival has been cancelled after 40 years because of the ULEZ expansion.
The hated levy, which sees drivers whose cars do not conform to strict emissions standards pay £12.50 to enter a regulated zone, was widened to the entirety of Greater London last August.
The 2024 Bromley Pageant of Motoring in Bromley, South London, was cancelled because of the added cost of the ULEZ charge, a statement posted on Facebook confirmed.
Bromley was far outside the zone when it was first introduced in 2019.
It used to cover the same area of central London as the Congestion Charge, and even escaped its first expansion to the North and South Circular roads in 2021.
Now though, anyone with a non-compliant car coming into Bromley from outside of London is forced to cough up the flat fee of £12.50.
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Failure to do so sees drivers slapped with a £180 fine.
Not only would this impact visitor's vehicles, but even some of the gorgeous classics scheduled to be on show.
So-called "historic" vehicles are exempt from ULEZ on a rolling, 40-year basis, meaning that the current cut-off sits in 1984.
Cars manufactured between then and 2005, for petrol, or as late as 2015 for diesel models are unlikely to meet the necessary standard.
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Pageant organisers Pippa and Jason wrote: "Following the introduction of the ULEZ zone across Greater London, we have taken considerable time to evaluate all options for the future of the Bromley Pageant of Motoring, including whether it would be viable to still hold the Pageant at Norman Park, Bromley.
"It became clear that Norman Park is no longer an option and any move to a new venue and date needs to ensure that this firm favourite of the classic car calendar has a bright future.
"We have made the very difficult decision to not hold the event in 2024 but are working on plans to bring back the Bromley Pageant of Motoring in 2025."
They also thanked petrolheads for their support and stressed their disappointment at not being able to hold the "wonderful event".
Sadly, instances like this are only likely to become more common as ULEZ-style Clean Air Zones (CAZs) pop up across the nation.
CAZs, which enforce the same standards as ULEZ and charge non-compliant drivers, are currently active in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside.
The Greater Manchester local authority is also set to introduce a CAZ in the coming years, but no date has yet been set.
A spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: "The majority of classic cars are exempt from the ULEZ charge. This strikes a balance between allowing rallies to continue and cleaning up London’s toxic air.
"The Mayor has been clear that the decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide was not an easy one, but necessary to tackle toxic air pollution and the climate crisis.
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"Around 4000 Londoners die 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.
"95% of all vehicles seen driving across London on an average day now meet clean air standards and do not need to pay."
