Struggling charities may have to ditch their minibuses as new exhaust emissions rules come into force in January. Organisations, including Deen City Farm in Colliers Wood, face a dilemma as heavy charges are introduced for running most minibuses made before October 2006 in the capital.

The cash-strapped community farm, already facing financial difficulties because of funding cuts, had its minibus taken away on Thursday – after the vehicle broke down and the farm decided it would not be economical to have it repaired or altered to meet the rules.

Volunteer co-ordinator Ben Muton-Phillips said: “We are between a rock and a hard place because we haven’t got the funding but we really need the vehicle.”

The minibus was used for tasks including taking the Windsor Avenue farm’s smaller animals to the vets and transporting egg incubators to and from schools.

The farm will lose out on cash-generating activities if it cannot be replaced.

Graham Pain, of Merton Community Transport (MCT), said organisations across the borough, including those that support vulnerable people, would have their finances hit by the new rule.

He said: “It’s going to have a big effect... A lot of people are going to suffer quite badly.”

MCT provides transport for individuals with mobility problems and also hires vehicles to the public and voluntary sectors.

Mr Pain said MCT’s fleet was up to date and would not be affected by next year’s change.

A TfL spokesman said the new standards had already been delayed by more than 15 months, and it was providing advice to charities on the most cost-effective way of meeting them.

The spokesman said: “They [the changes] will broadly double the impact of the current scheme in terms of driving down PM10 levels, which is a contributory factor in an estimated 4,300 premature deaths in London a year and a range of illnesses including asthma.”

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