A landmark study from Fix Radio – the UK’s only national radio station for builders and tradespeople – shows that one in four (23%) London tradespeople say the ULEZ expansion has had a detrimental impact on their business. This comes as a High Court challenge by five Conservative-led councils against London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan to expand the ULEZ zone will be heard today. The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) has called for a 12-month delay to the ULEZ expansion which is set to take effect in August – covering most of Greater London. The delay would allow tradespeople and building businesses extra time to make the switch to having ULEZ-compliant vehicles.

As the ULEZ expansion is just under two months away from coming into force, tradespeople are set to be among those worst hit by the new regulation as the data from Fix shows that 25% of London tradespeople say they have had to increase their prices in the last year due to increasing transport costs and have lost work as a result. Research from the Federation of Master Builders has shown that increases to transportation costs, such as rising parking fees over the last 18 months has forced 80% of tradespeople in the Capital to increase their prices.

This concerning outlook comes on top of the fact that the cost of steep parking fee rises, and ‘green’ motoring charges forces builders, plumbers and electricians in London to spend £70 on average before they have even walked through the door, and a total of £140 a day including operating costs, according to Fix Radio research. With the average day rate of a tradesperson equalling £150 – according to Pier Consulting – the addition of the new ULEZ charges is now leaving tradespeople in London facing a loss of 21 workdays. For some tradespeople who have reported on Fix Radio that their daily costs have been as expensive as £300 to work in the Capital, the situation is much bleaker.

The national research revealed by Fix further highlights the negative impact that the ULEZ expansion is having on the trades as 23% of London tradespeople say it is too expensive to use their van or vehicle for work due to the cost of driving into London.