Air pollution

Spotter campaign

For many years Westminster Council ran a spotter campaign where members of the public could report smoky, cars, lorries, buses, taxis and coaches. We would then send an informative letter to the registered keeper telling him of the report and inviting him to check that the vehicles emissions were within legal limits.

However, due to changes in the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 we can no longer obtain details of registered keepers using reports from members of the public. We can act on reports of stationary vehicle problems if the complaint is a recurring one and there is a pattern to the complaint.

We cannot send an inspector out on an ad-hoc visit for every complaint when the vehicle could drive off at any time, but we can act if the problem is a reoccurring nuisance with a pattern we can act upon. Examples are buses that frequently leave engines running at bus stands or coaches parked outside hotels waiting for tourists. We cannot stop vehicles with refrigeration equipment from running, traffic at junctions or complaints about engines running for less than 5 minutes. Phone our call centre on 020 7641 1212 or complete the online form to report these problems.