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Estates billed for C-charge fee
EVERY estate within the Congestion Charge zone is being billed for council contract workers’ travel expenses, housing chiefs admitted last night (Thursday).
But a top director at Homes for Islington (HfI), the company that runs the borough’s housing stock, insisted contractors are not billing council homeowners and HfI for their personal travel.
It follows Tribune reports last week about how builders working on the St Luke’s estate in Finsbury are invoicing £50,000 in Congestion Charge fees for a 61-week project.
An invoice leaked to the Tribune showed that J Murphy & Sons are not just charging daily rate but are also turning a £10,000 profit from the Mayor of London’s traffic levy.
John Phillips, HfI’s director of property services, said: “Seventeen estates are within the congestion charge zone in the Bunhill and Clerkenwell wards.
“Agreements over the cost of the congestion charge for contractors are made as part of the tender.
“It is standard practice for contractors to charge for costs incurred for company vehicles in the congestion zone on work-related business.
“We support the green agenda to reduce traffic, but accept that in work of this kind, vehicle use is needed to bring in equipment, much of which cannot be kept overnight on site.”
HfI agreed to pay the Congestion Charge as part of the original deal hammered out with various contractors.
Mr Phillips assured leaseholders that his department is now scrutinising the Congestion Charge invoices to ensure the paperwork is accurate and the homeowners are being accurately charged.
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