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.
Read More: Tyne Tunnel would have 'significant' queues without cashless toll system after traffic levels surge
But Newcastle and Gateshead councils’ cabinets have both now agreed to hold off on imposing the tolls until January 30, 2023 – and a further postponement for LGV drivers until July 17 next year, due to a national shortage of vehicles and rising costs making it harder for van drivers to upgrade to cleaner models. The CAZ charges had been due to start this month, having already been delayed from January 2021, but there have been major concerns about the impact of imposing the heavy daily fees at a time when residents and businesses are already struggling with the cost of living crisis.
However, the latest timetable for the pollution-cutting scheme must still be agreed by the government – something Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said on Tuesday should be “simply a formality” despite the upheaval in Westminster over recent weeks.
He said: “It has been incredibly difficult to get government approval. What we are told now is the discussions are ongoing. It requires ministerial sign off.
“Now I’m only making that point because anyone who knows what’s going on in government at the moment, it’s incredibly difficult to get sign offs. If we are going to reach these timescales we have to get this done now. It’s simply a formality for ministers to sign it off.”
Coun Jane Byrne, Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member responsible for transport and pollution, said on Monday that the delay to the tolls showed the CAZ was about complying with environmental rules and not making money from drivers. Newcastle Lib Dem opposition leader Nick Cott criticised the CAZ for being watered down over the years and said it “just hasn’t been ambitious enough”, while asking if the postponed tolling plan would risk putting the council in legal trouble for not sticking to a government order to reduce pollution levels in the shortest possible time.
Coun Byrne replied that she was “confident that we are meeting our obligations and that any delays have been due to circumstances that are genuinely beyond our control”. The CAZ will cover most of Newcastle city centre, including the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges.
Owners of vehicles that will be charged to enter the CAZ will be able to apply for grant funding of up to £20,000 per vehicle to upgrade, with the money expected to be available from this October. Drivers can now check if their vehicle is compliant with the CAZ standards at gov.uk/clean-air-zones.
Read More:
- Newcastle City Council staff warn morale at 'rock bottom' and accuse bosses of 'wall of secrecy'
- Heaton rail yard housing estate takes step forward as developer pledges 'lifetime of low energy bills'
- Stack-style food, drink, and entertainment venue set to open in Newcastle after council backing
- Metro's money woes deepen as cost of living crisis puts extra £4m on spiralling energy bills
- Plea for 'swift' decision on long-awaited A1 dualling in Northumberland after double delay
