A new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) that will impose daily tolls to drive into Newcastle city centre has been activated – but motorists still have almost four months before the charges begin.
Council bosses announced on Monday morning that they had switched on cameras monitoring all vehicles that enter the city centre, where some older, high-polluting vehicles will soon be met with heavy fees of up to £50 a day in an effort to reduce illegal levels of toxic emissions. While the cameras have come into operation a month earlier than expected, no tolls are being issued under the CAZ until the end of January – with the owners of vehicles that do not meet the zone’s environmental regulations only being sent warning letters until then.
But dozens of signs informing road users of the new restrictions have already been criticised as causing “confusion and concern”, as they do not state that the tolls are not yet in force.
