Tyneside council bosses say they are “still in discussions” over whether new pollution tolls can be imposed in just three months’ time, as another Northern city delays its plans.
A Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is due to come into force in Newcastle city centre this July, hitting drivers of some high-polluting vehicles with heavy daily charges. Lorries, buses and coaches that do not comply with emissions standards will have to pay £50 per day to drive into the city centre, while older vans and taxis will be charged £12.50 per day. All private cars will be exempt.
However, there are major concerns about whether the system will be introduced as planned – and the potentially severe impact on many residents and businesses if it is.
Read More: Fears of 'misery and hardship' from Newcastle Clean Air Zone – but no plans to delays tolls yet
This week, Sheffield became the latest city to delay its CAZ plan – saying it cannot implement it until 2023, which is two years later than the same government-set deadline that Newcastle received to bring roadside emissions back to within legal limits. Greater Manchester’s zone was due to start charging this May but has also been pushed back, while a proposal for one in Leeds was scrapped in 2020.
Transport officials here said they are "concerned that affected drivers should be given enough time" to get ready for tolls that might affect them in Newcastle, but are yet to announce that the scheme will be put on hold. Only three months away from the proposed start of the Newcastle CAZ, no road signs to warn drivers of the changes have been put up and no automatic number plate recognition cameras to make the system work have been installed.
Significant fears have also been aired over the absence of any grants to help people with older vehicles upgrade to new, cleaner models that will not be charged. Newcastle and Gateshead councils have complained that the government has not responded to their request for £23m of funding that would allow them to offer grants of up to £20,000 per vehicle, saying that a previous £16m offer is based on pre-Covid costings and fails to take into account supply chain problems brought about by the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis.
Outgoing Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes warned recently that the CAZ will “cause misery and hardship to many people if it is not done properly”. However, there remains no change to the scheme’s July start date as yet.
A spokesperson for Newcastle and Gateshead Councils said: “We are still in discussions with government about the preparations required before our ‘go live’ date. We are concerned that affected drivers should be given enough time to prepare before the Clean Air Zone is introduced.
“We will confirm arrangements as soon as possible, but we would urge any business or individual who feels they may be impacted by the Clean Air Zone to register for more information at www.breathe-cleanair.com”
When asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) did not answer whether it expected the Newcastle CAZ to be implemented in July as planned.
It was originally meant to start in January 2021, but was pushed back amid delays caused by a High Court battle and the Covid-19 pandemic. The proposed toll zone covers most of Newcastle city centre, including the routes in over the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges.
