There is no longer a Mayoral Bentley cruising the streets of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea any more - and the council plans to 'green' its entire vehicle fleet as pressure ramps up on London authorities to reduce vehicle emissions.
The council will begin converting to a low-emissions vehicle fleet from October, in an effort to clean up air in the borough home to notorious pollution black-spots, including parts of Earls Court .
Once its entire fleet goes electric, the council says it will save more than 40 tonnes of C02 a year – roughly the weight of an adult sperm whale.
The Conservative-led Kensington & Chelsea is calling on the rest of the community to help it reduce air pollution.
London's toxic air crisis
Mayor Marie-Therese Rossi's Bentley Continental Flying Spur is already gone: sold at the beginning of this summer, the council has confirmed.
Rolls Royces and super-cars can be regularly spotted dropping off well-heeled shoppers to Harrods in the south of the royal borough.
"It doesn’t matter if you are driving a car, a van or an ambassador’s limousine, we want everyone in the borough to do their bit," council leader Elizabeth Campbell said.
Kensington & Chelsea has backed Mayor Sadiq Khan ’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone, and its extension, which sees vehicles that don’t meet emission standards charged £12.50 per day.
The zone and charges will extend to central-West London boroughs, including Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster, northern Wandsworth and eastern Ealing, Brent and Hounslow by 2021.
The council hopes to complete its green fleet procurement by 2022, starting with green ‘zero tail pipe emissions’ vehicles or ‘ultra-low emissions’ vehicles - from the Mayor’s official car, to its street cleaning rigs.
Efforts to clean up West London's air could not come soon enough for residents of the borough. Notting Hill Preparatory School made headlines earlier this year when it installed air filters so its pupils could breathe cleaner air.
The council is working with its contractors to find ways to convert refuse trucks to low emission vehicles, too.
It says halving the amount of C02 that each diesel truck emits could save 430 tonnes of C02 a year – well over the weight of a Boeing 747.
Healthy city living cabinet lead Cllr David Lindsay said the council was trying to set an example.
“Converting council vehicles to cut emissions is an important part of the council’s plan to improve air quality for our residents and tackle climate change.
"Ultimately, we want our staff, residents, businesses and the huge number of people who visit our area to look at alternatives to using motor vehicles in their day to day lives.”
