Newcastle’s Clean Air Zone finally launched on Monday – with the city centre pollution tolls coming as a long-awaited relief for some but branded a “nightmare” for others.
After years of debate and a string of delays, measures to try and crack down on illegal and dangerous levels of air pollution are finally in force. Cameras dotted around the edge of the city centre are now on watch for high-emissions vehicles that do not comply with the environmental standards of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ).
While all private cars are exempt from any tolls, drivers of older buses, coaches, taxis, and HGVs must now pay daily charges of either £50 or £12.50 if they want to go to or through the city centre. There will also be £12.50 tolls for non-compliant vans coming this summer under the CAZ scheme, which has been imposed by local councils in response to a Government order to cut air pollution in the quickest possible time.
Read More: Newcastle Clean Air Zone: What you need to know about new pollution tolls
Tony Carter, owner of Gateshead-based haulage firm Tony Carter Transport, said he felt “lucky” that most of his fleet is modern enough to comply with the new restrictions – but has worries about the impact on smaller businesses, particularly when tolls for van drivers begin in July. He said: “If you are a small business with one or two vans, you are going to be knackered. People operating in Newcastle city centre will go bust, put their costs up, or leave. The prime example would be if you are a one-man band fruit and veg seller, something like that.”
The 51-year-old told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he would have preferred if the council had taken a harder stance on air pollution by issuing a total ban on the worst polluters in some areas, something Glasgow is set to introduce this summer. He added: “If it was a total ban, that would be fair – I want to protect the environment for the next generation. But actually, you can pollute the air in the city centre as much as you want as long as you pay the council £50.
“If they were that passionate [about air pollution], they would have put in a total ban. That is what sticks in my throat.”
The council has argued that the CAZ measures being imposed have been deemed the most effective under modelling – with other rejected options having included charges for private cars, a toll for most vehicles to cross the Tyne Bridge, and a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) banning buses, lorries and taxis that do not meet environmental standards from Newcastle city centre.
The Green Party’s Nick Hartley welcomed the start of the CAZ, but warned more action will be needed to solve Tyneside’s pollution problems – which are linked to hundreds of deaths each year. He said: “Air pollution has been an issue in our city for decades so it's good that action has finally been taken by our city council.
“But this CAZ won't solve air pollution alone. Alongside the stick in the form of charges for polluting vehicles we need to see far more carrots. We hope the money raised from CAZ charges will be reinvested in improved and affordable public transport across the city, better cycling infrastructure, and electric buses and taxis. These measures will also help tackle the climate emergency, and keep people moving in our city without polluting our air."
On Saturday, campaigners from Climate Action Newcastle staged a welcome walk around the boundary of the CAZ to celebrate its arrival. But Santino Wilson-Ford, manager of Wallsend-based Premier Transport, called the tolls a “nightmare” for his minibus and coach hire business.
He said the impact of the charges risked “crippling” the firm, which also provides school transport for children with disabilities and special educational needs, though he is hoping that their fleet will be granted more exemptions from the tolls. Mr Wilson-Ford said: “We have applied for exemptions on some of the vehicles and we have been granted a couple, but we are still waiting for others to come back. The people at the council must be pulling their hair out, I don’t think they want this either. We have applied for grants too, but there is a massive backlog.”
Petrol vans and taxis that meet ‘Euro 4’ standards are exempt, as are ‘Euro 6’ diesels. All HGVs, buses and coaches must be of ‘Euro 6’ standard to avoid the toll. Newcastle and Gateshead councils say that, as a general rule, the following vehicles should meet the minimum standard and, therefore, be exempt from tolls:
- Taxis – Diesels registered after September 2015, petrol cars registered after 2005;
- Vans – Diesels registered after September 2016, petrol after January 2006;
- HGVs, buses and coaches registered after 2014.
You can check if your vehicle is compliant or not by entering your registration number at gov.uk/clean-air-zones. A spokesperson for the Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone said: “The Clean Air Zone is now in place, with all systems in operation from today, so anyone entering the zone using a non-compliant vehicle will need to pay the charge.
“Charges can be paid either six days in advance, on the day of the journey or by 11.59pm on the sixth day after the journey. Details on how to pay can be found at breathe-cleanair.com/how-to-pay-a-caz-charge and we encourage people to check and make sure they understand what they need to do.”
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