Khan's Ulez hollows out London as empty shops hit decade high
According to new figures from property analysts firm CoStar, the vacancy rate for shops across all London boroughs soared to 6.2pc this year, compared to 1.9pc in areas immediately outside of the capital.
The figures reflect the impact of the Ulez on high streets, particularly after the Mayor of London expanded the charge to cover the whole of the capital two years ago.
CoStar's researchers said that while the effects of the pandemic have increased retail vacancy rates across the country, the increases elsewhere were 'more moderate' than those in the capital.
Store closures have been proven to be a particular problem in outer London.
For example, the number of empty shops in Bromley has more than doubled to more than 20 since July last year, figures show.
Retail parks within the Ulez zone are also battling vacancy rates of 4.2pc, CoStar found, compared to 0.2pc for those in unaffected areas.
This has been fuelled by a drop in leasing demand, as retailers fear reduced footfall caused by Ulez, which charges drivers whose vehicles do not comply with emissions standards £12.50 a day.
Shrinking demand for retail space
Thomas Turrell, the Conservative London Assembly member for Bexley and Bromley, said: 'The Conservatives warned the Mayor quite clearly that the ULEZ expansion would have unforeseen impacts on the way people in outer London live and work – and as we see now in the data, one of those consequences is the high street.
'Local economies are struggling already as a result of the Labour Government's catastrophic jobs tax, and the Mayor whacking ULEZ on top is only exacerbating that. High streets are at the heart of our local economies, and I want to see work done to save them before it is too late.
'Sadiq Khan and Labour just don't get Greater London, the ill-advised expansion of ULEZ to Outer London was a clear example of this.
Patrick Scanlon, senior director of market analytics at CoStar, said the group's findings signalled that the expanded policy has shrunk demand for retail space.
He said that the negative impact of Ulez could potentially be a 'short-term problem' because more drivers will gradually trade their old vehicles for newer ones.
However, Mr Scanlon warned that high vacancy rates could have a serious effect on investment.
He said: 'The question is how much more vacancy we're going to see because of the Ulez expansion. Investors will tend not to want to buy into areas with systemic high vacancy, so there are implications. Attracting investors might become difficult.'
A spokesman for the Mayor of London said that TfL and the GLA's report found the Ulez expansion 'has not impacted footfall or retail and leisure spending in either outer London or London as a whole'.
She also pointed to research from the Centre for Cities, the think tank, which concluded that the expansion has not reduced demand for high street goods and services.
The spokesman said: 'Recent data shows that Ulez works, driving down levels of pollution and bringing cleaner air to all Londoners.
'With 97.1pc of vehicles seen driving in London now Ulez compliant, the data also shows that Londoners have continued to upgrade their vehicles to cleaner models.'
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