Councillors have backed plans to delay new city centre tolls on high-polluting vehicles until next year – but the postponement still needs the government’s approval.
The long-delayed Clean Air Zone is now due to launch in Newcastle city centre this November. But drivers of vehicles that do not comply with environmental standards will be issued with warning letters rather than penalty charges for the first few months of its operation, under latest proposals signed off by council bosses this week.
All private cars will be exempt from the tolls, but older and more polluting lorries, buses and coaches will incur fees of £50 per day. Taxis and vans that fall foul of air quality regulations will also be charged £12.50 per day, in an effort to slash illegal levels of roadside emissions and cut the number of Tyneside deaths linked to pollution.
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