A local resident of Richmond, who suffers from asthma, says that ULEZ must be a 'start of a comprehensive approach to air quality both from the borough and more broadly across London.' 

The ULEZ expansion came into force yesterday (29th August) to include outer London boroughs, such as Richmond,and while it is a controversial scheme for many, those who live with the lasting effects of pollution every day welcome it. 

The scheme aims to improve the air quality in London by reducing the number of the most polluting vehicles on the road. 

If your car is not compliant with the ULEZ standard and you drive within the zone then you could face a daily charge of £12.50. 

Charlotte Baker, who lives in Richmond, knows the effects that poor air quality can have on Londoners' health. She has asthma and was recently hospitalised with a severe asthma attack, which involved emergency treatment and has left her on steroids, which have nasty side effects. 

Charlotte grew up on the South Circular in Richmond and says the aggravation of her asthma symptoms can be directly correlated to when she moved there aged eight. 

She said: "There are hundreds of thousands of asthmatics in London alone and one of the major triggers is poor air quality.I support the expansion of the ULEZ to Outer London so that in Richmond we can see the benefit that the inner London boroughs have already seen from the ULEZ expansion." 

ULEZ has already been in place in inner London for four years and data shows that pollution levels are 21% lower than they would have been without the ULEZ. 

In central London, the ULEZ has reduced harmful pollution levels in central London by nearly half compared to what they would have been without the scheme, with harmful nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels reduced by 46%. 

The reality for people like Charlotte: 

Charlotte said: "The daily reality is that it can be anything from feeling very tight-chested and struggling to take a breath, to being fully incapacitated and stuck at home. Breathing is something you shouldn't have to think about, it's an automatic reflex, but on days when I am struggling with my asthma, it's a feeling that I cannot fill my lungs and it's really horrible. 

"At times you feel like you're drowning, it's very frightening actually." 

She also adds that the impact of the pollution can be worse depending on atmospheric factors such as pollen, smoke or hot and humid weather. 

Charlotte said: "We have to accept that in our city the number one cause of pollution is the tailpipes from motor vehicles. 

"There are lots of people who need their vehicles to get around - but there are also lots of people who make small, unnecessary car journeys because they feel that they don't have an alternative and what I'm saying to those people is small unnecessary car journeys are actually causing really severe health impacts for people like me and everyone has a role to play in trying to clean up the air." 

She added: "The ULEZ is a part of that, in trying to take the most polluting vehicles off the road of the entire capital now and that's a really important step forwards – but it's got to be combined with other measures as well. 

"Particularly, in Richmond, we have among the highest car ownership in London, even in areas of the borough that have really good public transport links. It's really important to send the message out to people that you deciding to nip to the shops in the car when you could walk 15 minutes is having a negative impact on the health of others – and indeed your own health." 

Charlotte added that she thinks ULEZ is a great signal of intent from the Mayor in terms of where he wants to go with his policies and that she hopes that Outer London will see the same improvements in air quality that Inner London has seen. 

"It's very surreal" 

When Charlotte was in hospital, she listened to a radio phone-in show, where people were calling to complain about how they would be affected by the ULEZ 

She found it very surreal to hear people complaining about minor inconveniences that ULEZ would cause, while she was lying in a hospital bed on a nebuliser. 

She said: "I sat there thinking 'have we got to the stage where we have so little empathy for our fellow human beings, that we see walking 10 minutes or exchanging a vehicle as things that are equivalent to not being able to breathe? People say they are distressed; I have to say, the level of distress that you experience when you're having a respiratory attack is indescribable to people who haven't experienced it." 

"These aren't equivalent, we know that there are thousands of premature deaths from air pollution in London every year and we should be thinking and focusing on that, rather than the inconvenience factor – especially now the scrappage scheme has been extended to everyone."