Decision on Manchester Clean Air Zone referred back to the Government
It follows backlash from a petition that has had tens of thousands of signatures
Last updated 20th Jan 2022
Greater Manchester's leaders have voted to refer plans for a Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone back to the government.
Plans for the scheme propose than from the end of May the most polluting vehicles within Greater Manchester's 10 boroughs will face a daily charge - an area of approximately 493 square miles.
Greater Manchester will ask the Government to pause the next phase of the financial support scheme which was due to open at the end of this month.
Funding to upgrade taxis, vans, coaches and minibuses to cleaner models is set to be paused to allow for a ‘fundamental review’ of the Clean Air Zone.
It comes amid evidence of supply chain issues in the light goods vehicles market, increasing the price of second hand vans by up to 60 pc since 2020.
There has also been a major public backlash against the Clean Air Zone in recent weeks – but councillors say the scheme itself will not be scrapped.
"It is impossible to proceed on the current basis without causing real hardship to some of our residents"
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, tweeted: 'I am pleased that Greater Manchester councils have just voted to refer the Clean Air Zone back to the Government.
'GM has tried in good faith to make the Government’s legal direction work. However, changes in the vehicle market mean it is impossible to proceed on the current basis without causing real hardship to some of our residents.
'We remain committed to tackling illegal levels of air pollution in GM as soon as possible. This decision opens up the space for urgent, joint discussions with the Government about potential changes to make the scheme fair for everyone.
'I am listening to people’s concerns and will always stand up for GM. I am not the final decision-maker but will do everything I can, working with Government, to get this to the right place.'
Speaking to councillors at Manchester Town Hall on Thursday (January 20), Transport for Greater Manchester boss Simon Warburton explained why the Clean Air Funds scheme must be paused to allow for a ‘fundamental review’.
He said: “We face a dual challenge of the volume of vehicles that are in the market and also the prices at which they are in the market.
“Our advice now is that we are no longer confident that the funding arrangement as it stands will provide for the quantum and the sequencing of funding that is needed.”
Warburton said that light goods vehicles will be the most affected by the Clean Air Zone because Greater Manchester has a ‘particularly old’ fleet of vans.
But during the pandemic, the number of light goods vehicles entering the market fell, with a 20 pc reduction in new vans compared to the year before.
And although the number of new light goods vehicles registered in 2021 has rise back to 2019 levels, there are now fewer vans in the second hand market.
For this reason, the cost of upgrading light goods vehicles has risen and the financial support scheme agreed last summer will no longer be sufficient.
Could cost some up to "over £3000 a year"
Backlash from the public has resulted in a petition that has been signed tens of thousands of people opposing the CAZ scheme.
As of today (20th January), over 44,000 people have signed the petition that was started by Paul Delve.
Danny Danson, a handyman from Stockport, worries about how small businesses like his will be hit.
"Financially it's going to cost me over £3000 a year", said Danny.
"As a handyman I have to go out to jobs and price the jobs up to see if I can do it and how much it's going to cost them. I can't go around charging £10 to the first customer just to go an visit, just for leaving the house.
"I'm sure the big firms are going to take a big hit as well, but the little firms are one man bands. They struggle to keep a van, get it MOT'd and keep it serviced and up to date. It's a massive cost. So, to the small companies, like myself, we will take a big hit on this."
"We are still legally directed to achieve compliance in the shortest time possible and not later than 2024"
Trafford council leader Andrew Western, who is the Clean Air lead in Greater Manchester, has already written to the government to give them a ‘heads up’.
He said: “We are still legally directed to achieve compliance in the shortest time possible and not later than 2024 and we have a moral obligation to do so too.
“But there is undoubtedly a real concern coming through from the evidence that we’ve seen and also anecdotally from smaller businesses in the conurbation that they do want to upgrade, but they’re struggling to, in some cases, replace.
“With those changes to second hand prices and the potential ramifications of that being several thousand pounds potentially increasing the costs of second hand complaint vehicles, there’s much for us to do and obviously not all of that is within our jurisdiction as Greater Manchester.
“These are national and global supply chain issues and they require a national solution.”
What are the plans for the Clean Air Zone?
The CAZ would spread across Greater Manchester's 10 boroughs, including Wigan, and charge the most polluting vehicles a daily fee.
Cameras will be installed across the roads within Manchester, to enforce a non-payment of the CAZ charge.
In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the UK government had broken the law by failing to protect people from polluted air and that urgent action needed to be taken, with Manchester being one of 16 regions and cities within the UK that suffer from illegal levels of NO2, nitrogen dioxide .
As a result, all 10 Greater Manchester councils have been directed by law to reduce air pollution by 2024.
Air pollution within the city is said to contribute towards at least 1,200 deaths per year.
So far, more than £120m of Government funding has been put in place to help eligible drivers upgrade their vehicles and avoid the daily charge.
The Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone due to launch 30 May 2022.
What are the CAZ charges?
The proposed daily charges for the CAZ are:
- Buses and heavy good vehicles (HGV) - £60 (from 30 May 2022)
- Coaches – £60 (temporary exemption until 1 June 2023)
- Taxis and private hire vehicles – £7.50 (from 30 May 2022)
- Private Motorhomes/Campervans in the main will also be included but the daily charge and date of introduction will depend on the tax class of the vehicle