Page 5 - Microsoft Word - WCCC Newsletter 2020 test B.docx

NEWS FROM THE FEDERATION
In issue 5 2019 of the News there are a few articles which may be of interest to members: These have been copied on these pages. A full copy and back issues of the News can be seen by Clicking Here.
The latest copy of the NEWS is Issue 2 2020 in either PDF or DOC format.
General
Welcome to the new non-EU Britain! (Although at the moment it feels very much like the old EU one.)
This quarter brings further developments which have an impact on historic vehicles, and again a period where there is little clarity about the future.
Clean Air Zones & Low Emission Zones
Clean Air Zones, Low Emission Zones or Ultra Low Emission Zones, which I am increasingly referring to as CAZ/LEZ remain proposed for many areas, and the future seems to include a myriad of road user restrictions all enforced by Automatic Number plate Recognition [ANPR] and civil penalty charges [PCN’s].
No further significant developments to CAZ/LEZ have been published. York has claimed a “voluntary LEZ” as a result of agreeing with all local bus operators to use low emission buses in the historic city centre, and Harrow, currently outside the North Circular and therefore outside the planned extended London ULEZ have indicated their interest in extending the ULEZ to their borough, subject to getting funding to do so. Bradford has published an early-stage proposal to introduce a Low Emission Zone but excluding cars and motorcycles. We are currently looking at this and will be responding.
There have been several on-line checking systems introduced.
Transport for London have a checking system for their ULEZ although this is known to be inaccurate at times, and doesn’t include some London Authorities plans to introduce “school run” car bans around London schools, or to impose raised charges for having resident’s parking permits where non-compliant older cars are parked on the street.
There is a national CAZ checking system, newly introduced, which seems to check CAZ zones in Leeds and Birmingham (neither of which exist yet) but ignores London’s ULEZ. There have been queries about its accuracy too.
Scotland has introduced its own simple checking system which seems not to include any historic vehicle exemptions which have been proposed and does not mention any of the above.
Clearly there is some way to go before your Satnav will advise you of any upcoming zones and direct you to avoid them or find you a car park where you can stop while you pay all the charges online!
At this stage however, apart from the central London ULEZ the establishment of all of these zones is on hold pending implementation of the ANPR systems, which seem to need an increasingly complex set of variable parameters to manages all the zones, and a huge interfacing increase with the DVLA systems. The current target for completion of this work was July 2020 but has now been extended to August.
A Legal Conundrum
When the London ULEZ was introduced, this was done by a Local Authority Traffic Management Order made in 2014, and with variations confirmed by the then Mayor of London in 2015.
Under this variation, a ‘non-chargeable vehicle’ included a vehicle which is...
“an exempt vehicle within the meaning of paragraph I A of Schedule 2 to the 1994 Act [i.e defined as a tax- exempt Historic Vehicle] and particulars of the vehicle are for the time being entered in the register.”
A vehicle also qualifies for exemption “if it was constructed before 1st January 1973 and particulars of the vehicle are for the time being entered in the register.”
You will see that for both exemptions there is a requirement for the vehicle to be registered with Transport for London to qualify for the exemption.
However, what TfL’s website says is somewhat different:
Page 5