Porsche has officially filed a judicial review challenge against the London congestion charge increase. It follows TfL and the London mayor’s rejection of Porsche’s request for changes to the proposed £25-a-day charge.
London mayor Ken Livingstone and TfL will now have 21 days to acknowledge the filing and a further 35 days to ready their defence. A judge will then decide if the case can go to court. If the case is rejected, Porsche can appeal. Porsche has asked that the proceedings be accelerated because the new charge is scheduled to come into force from 27 October 2008.
‘Not only is this new tax on motorists unfair, it is also a disproportionate and illegal use of power by the mayor,’ says Andy Goss, managing director of Porsche Cars GB. ‘The Porsche case is about protecting London and Londoners from a new tax that will not only fail to reduce CO2 emissions in central London, but also increase congestion and damage air quality.’ Porsche claims that TfL’s own predictions also forecast an increase in congestion and further damage to air quality in London.