It is feared that new clean air tolls in Newcastle will cause “misery and hardship to many” without extra government cash support – but there are no plans to delay the scheme yet.
Daily fees of up to £50 per day will be charged on some high-polluting vehicles coming into the city centre from this July, under a new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) designed to cut illegal levels of dangerous emissions.
But local council officials have been left dismayed over the fact that, with just over four months until the scheme is due to launch, the government has yet to give it final approval or respond to a request for extra grant funding to help people upgrade to cleaner models that will be able to dodge the tolls.
