Mayor's anti-pollution zone targeting lorries with £200-a-day entry

New measures to improve London's poor air quality will be introduced by Ken Livingstone next week.

The Low Emission Zone comes into operation on Monday.

The Mayor is tackling emissions from older juggernauts by charging them £200 a day to enter Greater London, with the threat of a £1,000 fine for those that fail to comply.

But HGV operators will be given a 28-day amnesty on fines - starting from when their first polluting vehicle is detected without it having paid the £200 toll. This will give hauliers time to fit exhaust filters or make sure their fleets meet European emissions standards.

The rules governing the zone will first hit lorries over 12 tonnes, but will get progressively tighter until 2012.

This summer they will be widened to cover lighter lorries plus buses, coaches and some minibuses.

The plans have sparked controversy because they include horseboxes. Critics fear this will impact on the more rural lifestyle enjoyed by many people on the outskirts of London.

Meanwhile, the Green Party has urged the Mayor to extend it to transitdriving "white van man" in 2010.

The party notes that the level of particulates - tiny pieces of soot which are emitted by diesel engines and have been linked to poor health and hastened death - has worsened in the last two years.

The Greens also want buses and taxis to be fitted with hybrid engines that run on electricity at low speeds. They say the LEZ will make little difference to nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide levels.

A spokesman for business group London First said: "The Low Emission Zone misses the point: it doesn't target CO2 pollution and ignores fumes belched out by taxis, cars and most vans."

There is anger, too, from hauliers after Transport for London said the scheme would cost the industry up to £300million to comply with but provide maximum "economic benefits" of £240 million.

TfL says the zone will cost £57million to set up and £11million a year to run. It expects to raise between £30 million and £50million in tolls and penalties by 2015/16. It says the zone is "not intended to be a revenue-raising scheme".

Mr Livingstone said: "Thousands of Londoners suffer ill-health from pollution released by traffic fumes. The Low Emission Zone will improve quality of life and clean up London's air."