GREEN MEANS GO
MILLIONS UNSPENT: NEWCASTLE CAZ VEHICLE GRANT SCHEME SET TO CLOSE ON JANUARY 2026
A government grant scheme intended to help drivers and busin- esses purchase cleaner vehicles to avoid tolls in Newcastle’s CAZ is set to close on January 30 2026, with approxi-mately £8m of the original £15m still unspent. Newcastle City Council announced it will stop taking requests for the CAZ upgrade grants on that date. Since
applications opened in
November 2022, less than half the available funds have been distrib- uted. The council confirmed that after all final applications are processed, any remaining cash will be redirected toward upgrading the region’s bus fleets to models to
cleaner deliver “maximum benefit” in emissions hotspots.
However, the distribution details for this public funding remain unclear. Labour councillor Juna Sathian, cabinet member for climate and transport, urged eligible parties to apply quickly, stating: “Financial support is still available but this will be coming to an end in January so I would encourage anyone who is eligible who has not yet applied to do so as soon as possible.” So far, the council has paid out more than £5.5m to over 1,100 local businesses, tradespeople, and taxi drivers, with a further £900,000 committed for bus improvements. Grants have been issued for 620 taxis, 424 LGVs, 65 HGVs, and 34 coaches. While there was “high demand for funding at the launch of the
scheme,” applications have since “significantly declined.” The scheme previously faced criticism from small traders over its strict entry criteria, which initially required applicants to prove a need to enter the CAZ at least twice a week. This rule was later relaxed in 2024 to qualify any van, LGV, or minibus subject to CAZ tolls and registered in Newcastle, Gateshead, or North Tyneside. Taxi drivers in South Tyneside also complained about being excluded from the financial support, saying they were being priced out of journeys into Newcastle. The CAZ imposes daily tolls of £12.50 or £50 on older, non- compliant buses, vans, coaches, taxis, and lorries.
PUBLIC ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGEPOINTS SURGE 23 PER CENT IN JUST ONE YEAR
Figures recently released show there are now 86,021 chargers on Britain’s roads. A new chargepoint is now being added to the network every 33 minutes. The number also includes over 17,356 rapid/ultra- rapid chargers that can charge a car to 80% in just 20-40 mins. The data follows the launch of the £650m Electric Car Grant, which has already helped over 25,000 drivers make the switch with discounts of up to £3,750 on 39 models. The rapid growthhas taken place particularly in Yorkshire and the Humber, Wales, the West Midlands and East of England. Between October 2024 and October 2025, the public EV charging devices in
22
England outside of London grew by 23.4%, compared to 21.7% in London. There are currently over 6,000 (July 2025, Zapmap) open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargers within one mile of the Strategic Road Network
(England’s motorways
and major A-roads). This means total charger numbers have more than quadrupled in the last three years, supporting EV drivers to take longer journeys. The data comes just days after the Government announced it will consult to cut red tape and make it easier for renters and residents without driveways to install home chargers. Plans could see drivers
save £250 on planning fees and enable more households to run their car for as little as 2p per mile. The increase is complemented by the £25m scheme to
help
councils install cross-pavement channels for people without driveways, and the £381m rollout of 100,000 more
public
chargepoints over England. Vicky Read, chief executive, ChargeUK said: “The EV charging industry is pulling out all the stops to help drivers go electric, investing billions of private capital into high-quality charging - supporting the government’s ambitions for growth and decarbonisation in the process.”
DECEMBER 2025 PHTM
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