30,000 gas-guzzler drivers face £5,000 C-charge bills

People living inside the charging zone will lose their resident's discount if they drive larger, more polluting vehicles under proposals from Mayor Ken Livingstone. Their daily fee will rise from 80p to £25.

The plan was condemned today in Kensington and Chelsea, where 10,000 people run cars in vehicle excise duty Band G, producing more than 225 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

Council deputy leader Daniel Moylan said it was "spiteful", adding: "The Mayor is suggesting that one person would pay 30 times more than their neighbour with a slightly less polluting car." The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said up to 30,000 families, many with people carriers and other "ordinary" large vehicles, would face the higher charge.

It estimated the move would earn Transport for London about £100million a year extra.

Spokesman Nigel Wonnacott said: "It is clear this will eventually be extended to all of London so motorists all over the capital should beware." The AA said the higher charge, due to be introduced in October next year following consultation,would hit larger families who needed to use bigger cars and would make very little difference to the environment.

"Many Band G cars in London emit less carbon dioxide than a Ford Fiesta in Basingstoke because they do less mileage," said spokesman Luke Bosdet. "Typical mileage for a car in London is 3,800 a year, compared with 5,900 outside the M25.

He added: "Motorists paying perhaps £25,000 for a new car in the next band down in order to keep their resident's discount will have to budget carefully.

"New rules intended to change people's behaviour should have at least two or three years' notice. This is an unfair means of raising up to £36 million a year extra revenue, according to TfL's own estimates, to prop up finances elsewhere."

All Band G cars entering the zone would pay £25.

Mr Bosdet said the two groups likely to suffer most were lowincome households with older, more polluting cars and large, Asian families relying on bigger cars. He said both were pinpointed in TfL's own consultation document, which says they could suffer "reduced access to services or social networks".

A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea council said: "Unlike motorists outside the zone, people living inside it have no choice - they had the congestion charge thrust on them.

"They could end up paying £25 a day - £5,000 a year - even if they live on the edge of the zone and drive out of London."

Michael Davidson, 71, from Chelsea, could be forced to sell his second-hand Mercedes CL420 which he uses " occasionally" to take his wife to the doctor or hospital. "I have only done 2,000 miles in the past year, so the pollution is very low and these new rules could make me get rid of it," he said.

A TfL spokesman said: "The proposed new charges would apply only to the largest and most polluting vehicles. The overwhelming majority of these are in Band G. Some of the worst examples produce two or three times as much greenhouse gases as the average family car.

"This may affect up to 19,000 people currently registered for the congestion charge resident's discount. On the other hand, the least polluting vehicles - those in Bands A and B - would receive a 100 per cent discount.

"The aim is simply to encourage people to drive less polluting vehicles."

Cars that would be hit by the £25 charge

Diesels
Peugeot 407 SW 2.7 HDI
Vauxhall Movano 2.5 CDtI
Kia Sedona 2.9 CRDi auto
Land Rover Freelander 2.0 automatic
Renault Espace dCi automatic
Renault Grand Espace 2.2 dCi FAP automatic

Petrol
Saab 9-3 5dr estate 2.0 5-speed automatic
Renault Grand Espace 2.0 Turbo M6
Vauxhall Zafira 2.0i 16V Turbo
Peugeot 807 MPV 2.0 automatic
CitroÎn C8 automatic
VW Sharan 2.0 automatic
Fiat Croma 2.2 16V automatic
Chrysler Voyager 2.4 5-speed manual
Honda Accord Tourer 2.4 5-speed automatic
CitroÎn C5 3.0 V6 automatic
Ford Galaxy 2.3 manual
Ford Mondeo 2.5 6-speed V6 estate