New legal challenge to car charge

A second top-level legal challenge that could torpedo Ken Livingstone's congestion charging scheme has been launched by a group of residents.

The Kennington Association has formally called on the High Court to order a judicial review of the scheme which will see thousands of motorists forced to pay £5 a day to enter central London.

Like Westminster council, which has also applied for a judicial review, the association hopes a hearing will force the Mayor to delay or scrap his scheme.

Alternatively, the association's 300 members hope it will force the Mayor to redraw the zone so that their community is not cut in half by a boundary road that they fear will turn Kennington Lane into a "virtual motorway".

The association is claiming that if the scheme proceeds, residents in roads that are deluged with extra traffic should be eligible for compensation from the Mayor. They are challenging the scheme under the European Convention of Human Rights which states that residents have a right to enjoy their homes.

The association claims residents' lives will be severely affected when Kennington Lane attracts thousands of extra vehicles attempting to avoid the £5 charge, scheduled for launch in February next year.

They say property prices will be hit, air pollution and noise levels will soar and that it will become impossible to cross the road.

"This community has been regenerated over recent years and is finally on the up but this scheme will kill it off," claimed association spokesman, Professor Gordon McDougall. "The Mayor says traffic levels on the boundary will rise by around 10 per cent - we believe it will be more like 20 per cent. We have fought this all along through the consultation process but to no avail. It has been a nail-biting schedule but we have no choice."

The association says the huge cost of the legal challenge will have to be met by residents. "This is a David and Goliath battle with us against the Mayor's Transport for London department - but it has to be done," said Professor McDougall.

Last week Mr Justice Scott Baker ordered Westminster's hearing to start on 15 July. It will seek a review on the grounds the Mayor gave it the go-ahead without ordering an environmental impact assessment and a public inquiry. Mr Livingstone hopes the charge will cut congestion by up to 15 per cent.