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Green fury as council buys £115k gas guzzler
Last updated at 11:45am on 30.07.07
How green is your Bentley?: Andrew Dalton and the new mayoral car
Green groups reacted angrily today to a London mayor's choice of a £115,000 gas guzzler for his official car.
The Bentley Continental Flying Spur, pictured, is not only one of the most expensive on the market - it is also among the least environmentally friendly.
The Bentley pumps out four times more C02 than a Toyota Prius - when a key target for Kensington & Chelsea is to: "Reduce the environmental impact of travel by council staff further." London Assembly member Jenny Jones of the Green Party said: "This car is a polluting, pointless, gas guzzling status symbol. It sends out exactly the wrong message on the environment. How can people be expected to take seriously all the positive messages coming out of the council about the need to protect our environment, when the council are failing to lead by example."
Tony Bosworth, spokesman for Friends of the Earth, said: "This car is one of the biggest contributors to climate change of any of the cars on sale."
The purchase will also infuriate residents of the borough who face having to pay higher parking charges for vehicles that pollute more.
The council is considering bringing in a scheme similar to the one in place in Richmond where owners of cars that produce more than 225 grams of CO2 per kilometre pay three times more for their permits.
Under its own rules, the Bentley would have to pay the maximum-charge. And Kensington & Chelsea also supports the low emissions zone scheme that would charge businesses £200 a day for driving polluting commercial vehicles into the capital.
There were also questions being asked about the practicality of the four-door saloon which has a top speed of 195mph when the highest permitted speed in the borough is 40mph and the average speed is 18mph.
Officials ordered the new car for the mayor, Andrew Dalton, to reflect the prestige of one of London's only two royal boroughs. Much of the borough is in the extended congestion charging zone. Ken Livingstone plans to penalise the most polluting vehicles with a £25 levy for driving in the zone before the end of the decade.
Michael Clarke, spokesman for Kensington& Chelsea, said: "The council has not bought a new car for the mayor for almost 30 years. We hope that this new car will last just as long and will leave as much of a carbon footprint as several Prius cars which may only have a lifespan of four or five years."
Reader views (14)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Well done to K&C for standing up to the ignorant "water melons" (Green on the outside, pink on the inside). Shame about the hypocrisy, though. Parking permits and so called congestion charges based on emissions are completely disproportionate - the proposed £25 a day for band G cars, with no residents' discount, is equivalent to a £40,000 tax on a flight to Florida based on the extra emissions over a band F. Its bigotry not environmentalism that drives this.
- Nigel Humphries, London E14
This car is a beautify piece of engineering. It is motoring perfection. Its effect on the environment in the big scheme of things is probably unmeasurable. There are far worse things to get hot under the collar about such as why London's roads are in such an appalling state given the huge amount of tax motorists pay for very little return.
- Andy, Birmingham, Uk
They are all the same, be they Labour, Tory or Liberals. One rule for them and another for the poor man in the street to suffer!
- George Lee, London
Don't give a hoot about the CO2 nonsense, that's all lies and spin. However I do have issues over a council spending this sort of money. There are many ten year old Bentleys in superb order for a fraction of the price which would be just as impressive.
The main issue though is hypocrisy. Don't tell us what to drive if you don't follow your own principles.
- Dave Russell, Horsham
Fantastic! At least there's a few of the 'old school' left with enough authority to stick two fingers up to flavour of the month campaigners.
- Groomi, Orpington, England
Ian and MD - you're absolutely right: a "Smart" car would hardly do for trundling the mayor round the smartest London borough! Go for it, your honour!
- Trevor Roll, London
Good on you Andrew Dalton! Ignore the green idiots and drive what you want. Long after a Toyota Pious has left the scrapyard as a collection of rust and toxic battery chemicals, this Bentley will still be performing its duties. It is the BENTLEY that will be the economical car, not the TOYOTA.
- Tom, Manchester
The Government having called in the Leader of the Council's sad attempt to create a trophy school at Holland Park at a cost (so far) of £6 million of council taxpayers' money thinks nothing of another £115,000 on an environmentally unfriendly trophy car. Bad luck for the council taxpayers of Kensington and Chelsea.
- William Hooberman, London, England
Good on RBKC! What would you want to be seen trundling around in a Prius for anyway?
They are not that great on the environmental stakes, and are an exceptionally rubbish car all in, especially for the thick end of £20k.
- Md, London
Surely anyone in public office should abide by the their own desires to control the freedoms of the common man and lead from the front. Anything less is hypocracy.
- Graham, Reading, England
Shame on our public *servants* that they spend *our* money, so that they can be ferried around like royalty.
- Willstead Ash, London UK
Oh I see! so because they haven't bought a car for 30 years that gives them the right to go for an expensive one....so that's where my council tax goes to mmmmmmmmm
- Sarah, London
And what does this man do exactly?
- A.Noyd, london village
Good for them, I am fed up being told what I have to do by green and New labour groups. Why not have a Bentley it is a good Car, why should someone else dictate what I can drive or travel in
- Ian Makin, twickenham
