Churches in London’s congestion charge zone are warning that changes to the congestion charge rules could force them to close. The charges have increased by 30%: £15 is now payable on Sundays and weeknights. Charges are enforceable from 7am to 10pm, hitting all Sunday worship hours.
Fearful that many families with children and the elderly will be most affected, many church leaders have appealed to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, for some sort of exemption. Jonathan Evens, an Assistant Curate at St Martin-in-the-Fields, who chairs Churches Together in Westminster, argued that as a result, ‘many churches could become unsustainable’.
Linda Allcock, church worker at The Globe Church in central London said: ‘The congestion charge is a real kick in the teeth. It would be great if it were driven by environmental concerns, but it is for purely economic reasons that the congestion charge has been increased to seven days a week. As residents living in the zone, it has prevented our parents being able to visit safely. Friends with anxieties around using public transport are no longer able to visit, and we had to cancel the planned visit of friends with four small children as it is physically impossible for them to come and stay using public transport alone. This is replicated in church, and basically makes it impossible for those least able healthwise to safely attend. Obviously this is completely counter to the gospel call, which one could argue is biased towards the vulnerable.’
