The Mayor of London has announced a new scrappage scheme aimed at heavy vehicles has been launched in advance of the tighter Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standards, which will come into force on 1 March 2021.

The Mayor’s announcement says that the funding will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis and that more than 100 organisations have already pre-registered interest in the scheme.

The scheme is open to small businesses with up to 50 employees and registered charities.

There will be a limit of three grants available for each organisation that applies.

To be eligible an organisation must fulfil at least one of the following criteria:

•            have a registered address within the Greater London Area

•            hold a valid Operating Licence with an Operating centre within the Greater London area

•            hold a London Service Permit

Organisations that cannot fulfil any of these criteria can still apply to the scheme if the vehicle that is proposed to be scrapped or retrofitted has been operated within the Greater London Area at least 26 times between 28 March 2020 and 28 September 2020. This will need to be validated by vehicle tracking data.

Types of organisation that will be eligible to apply:

Micro businesses:

•            10 or fewer employees

•            annual turnover of not more than £632,000 or a balance sheet of not more than £316,000 

              in the preceding and current financial year

•            a Companies House registration as an active company in the UK or be VAT registered in the              UK

Small businesses:

•            50 or fewer employees

•            annual turnover of not more than £10.2 million OR a balance sheet of not more than £5.1   

              million

•            a Companies House registration as an active company in the UK or be VAT registered in the 

              UK

• A self-employed person who owns and operates a business in the UK as an individual (Sole Trader)
• Registered Charities that are registered with the Charities Commission as an active charity

The vehicle that you want to scrap must fail to meet the ULEZ emissions standards

To Scrap:

•            HGV, large van, specialist vehicle (over 3.5 Tonnes GVW), bus or coach (over 5 Tonnes GVW)

•            owned by the eligible organisation for more than calendar 12 months before the start of the

              heavy vehicle scrappage scheme on 28 September 2020

•            insured for business use

•            with valid road tax and MOT

•            surrendered for secure scrapping at either Perivale or Charlton Metropolitan Police Pounds

To Retrofit:

•            HGV, large van, specialist vehicle (over 3.5 Tonnes GVW), bus or coach (over 5 Tonnes GVW)

•            owned by an eligible organisation for more than calendar 12 months before the start of the

              heavy vehicle scrappage scheme on 28 September 2020

•            insured for business use

•            shown on the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS) register

•            retrofitted by a CVRAS approved company

Further information:

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/scrappage-schemes/heavy-vehicle#on-this-page-1