The health of people living on the outskirts of Newcastle will be put at risk by the city’s new Clean Air Zone (CAZ), councillors claim.
After years of planning, new tolls on some high-polluting vehicles came into force on Monday – initially affecting older buses, coaches, taxis, and lorries driving into Newcastle city centre. The heavy charges, which can be as high as £50 per day, are being imposed in response to a Government order demanding that local councils cut illegal levels of emissions in certain hotspots.
But councillors in the west of Newcastle now fear that their communities will be the next problem area for emissions. Jason Smith, leader of the Newcastle Independents party, worries that many motorists who used the Tyne Bridge and Central Motorway to head through, rather than to, the city centre will now divert to the A1 to avoid the CAZ.
