C-charge extension wins thumbs-down

The threat from Ken Livingstone to spread the congestion charge zone across a new swathe of London won a massive thumbs down in a new poll today.

The Mayor also came under pressure to scrap the charge altogether for drivers entering the capital in the afternoon.

The London-wide poll, exclusively for the Evening Standard, sparked immediate calls for Mr Livingstone to listen to the verdict and act.

London First, the business campaign that led the way in calling for the introduction of the charge, said that an earlier cut-off time was "an option that we will want to look at very closely" when the scheme comes up for review next year.

The London Chamber of Commerce said it was clear the charge was having a "serious impact" on shops and restaurants. A spokesman said: "Both sectors believe that the problem would be alleviated if the charge ended earlier.

"If the price of sustaining the retail trade at a higher level is a little bit more traffic, that's

probably a price worth paying." The poll of more than 1,000 Londoners by YouGov shows support for congestion charging is strong, and rising.

A solid majority, 57 per cent, favours the scheme, up from 48 per cent a year ago. The number against has fallen three points since last year, to 36 per cent.

There is wide hostility, however, to plans to extend the area covered by the charge. Only one in four are in favour, with 64 per cent against.

The public doubts were shared by business. A spokesman for the Confederation of British Industry warned: "There should be no question of rushing into expanding the areas before it is quite clear what the effects have been in the existing area."

The John Lewis Partnership retail group announced last month that sales at its flagship Oxford Street store were down five per cent on a year ago, compared with a 2.5 per cent increase in sales at its Peter Jones store in Chelsea, outside the zone. The company has called the charge "flawed" and opposes plans to extend it.

Mr Livingstone has pledged that his manifesto for next year's mayoral election will include plans to widen the zone westwards, to cover Kensington and Chelsea by 2006. The strong opposition voiced in the Evening Standard poll could make him think again.

Asked whether the charge should be levied in the mornings only, to aid shops and other businesses, 49 per cent said yes, with only 34 per cent against. However, at Transport for London, which oversees the scheme, a spokesman said there seemed no reason to alter the current timings, which run from 7am to 6.30pm.

A lunchtime cut-off risks a serious drop in revenue from the charge and possible afternoon jams. Mr Livingstone is likely to resist it on the grounds that the scheme is already bringing in less money than expected, squeezing the cash available for transport improvements. About 108,000 motorists a day pay the £5 charge to enter the zone.

The scheme will raise an estimated £ 68 million this year, and £80 million to £100 million in future years, for the Mayor to spend on public transport.

The zone covers 22 square kilometres of the West End, City and South Bank, bounded by the inner ring road. The proposed expansion would double its size, going as far west as Shepherd's Bush and taking in most of Kensington and Chelsea. Motorists would not pay on Edgware Road, Park Lane, Vauxhall Bridge Road or the Westway.

Two further proposed extensions, to take in the East End and Heathrow airport, will not be considered by the Mayor until 2008 at the earliest.