A final decision on whether to ditch controversial proposed Clean Air Zone fees in Manchester will have to wait until a new Prime Minister is in place.
The latest plans for the Clean Air Zone in Greater Manchester have been signed off by local leaders - but the area is still waiting for feedback from the Government.
The CAZ was set to begin in May and would have seen daily fees of up to £60 for the most polluting vans, taxis, buses and lorries on the region’s roads. But there was a big public backlash and plans were paused earlier this year.
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The deadline by which Greater Manchester's air quality had to meet legal standards was 2024 - but the Government moved it back to 2026, giving local leaders until this July to come up with proposals.
Their proposal is to scrap all fees and fund vehicle upgrades using the £120m that the government has agreed to give Greater Manchester. Last month, councillors approved a draft document which claims this ‘investment-led approach’ will achieve air quality compliance in time.
Greater Manchester’s Air Quality Administration Committee has approved the final version of the city-region’s case to scrap all charges. But speaking to the committee on Wednesday (August 17), Transport for Greater Manchester boss Megan Black (TfGM) said no response has been received yet.
She said: “Since the draft case was provided to the Secretary of State, no feedback has been received from government and it’s not expected until after the new Prime Minister is in post and a new government is formed.”
Councillors were told new modelling carried out this summer forecasts that by 2025, only one site is expected to have illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
This modelling takes into account the impact of Covid on vehicle upgrades and the introduction of electric buses across the city-region in the next few years.
Transport bosses say that upgrades to vehicle fleets would see the number of places in Greater Manchester with illegal levels of pollution fall to five by 2025.
They have also argued that rolling out electric buses in areas with the highest level of pollution would leave just one place above legal limits – Regent Road.
TfGM is now developing an ‘additional package of measures’ to improve air quality on Regent Road, making all of Greater Manchester compliant by 2025.
The Case for a New GM Clean Air Plan was later approved by the committee.
