GREEN MEANS GO
GREATER MANCHESTER TO PRESS ON WITH UK’S LARGEST CAZ AFTER SECURING GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Greater Manchester has confirmed that it will push ahead with a Clean Air Zone that would see drivers of heavily- polluting vehicles hit with daily charges. The Manchester Evening News reports that heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches would need to pay £60 a day to drive within the zone, with vans pay- ing £10 and taxi and PHVs paying £7.50. Failure to pay the charge will also result in a £120 fine plus the daily charge. Private vehicles will not fall within the CAZ, which will cover all 493 square miles of Greater Manchester, making it the largest in the UK. The zone was supposed to come into effect this year but was delayed due to the pandemic and a standoff between councils and the government over funding. But Mr Burnham confirmed that the combined authority has
received the £150m it had asked for to help businesses and individuals with the transition. Most of the funding - £120m - will help people pay for new cleaner vehicles or upgrade their old ones, while the rest will pay towards infrastructure such as cameras to monitor the roads. The government has not yet commit- ted to a hardship fund for those who will be most affected by the zone, but it is understood that they are interested in the idea in principle. Many businesses and individuals - par- ticularly in the taxi and private hire trade - had raised concerns about the financial impact of switching to cleaner vehicles after the pandemic. Mr Burnham said: “We recognise it’s a difficult time for businesses but we have been listening carefully during
GM-LICENSED HACKNEY CARRIAGES: PROPOSED FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Replacement grants
• Up to £10,000 towards replacement with a zero- emission-capable (ZEC) wheelchair-accessible vehicle
or
• Up to £5,000 towards replacement with a compliant wheelchair-accessible vehicle
or
• Up to £6,000 towards replacement with a ZEC non-wheelchair-accessible vehicle
or
• Up to £3,000 towards replacement with a compliant non-wheelchair-accessible vehicle
Retrofit grant
• Up to £5,000 to retrofit (through an LPG conversion) existing vehicle so it is compliant
In addition to grants, eligible owners would also have access to vehicle finance, offering a 0% or low-cost loan up to £10,000.
It is proposed that there is to be a limit of five vehicles per applicant for grant funding and finance, with funding and finance initially open to single owner/drivers only.
JULY 2021
consultation, and we’ve got a signifi- cantly improved financial package as a result of negotiations.” For the first 12 months of the scheme ONLY buses and HGVs will need to pay the daily charge. ALL other vehicles will not be affected until May 2023. Greater Manchester has secured £21.4m from government for a Clean Taxi Fund to support hackney carriages and PHVs (licensed with the ten Greater Manchester local authorities) to be upgraded to meet CAZ emissions standards. This would provide funding towards the retrofit or replacement of non-compliant vehicles or towards run- ning costs when the compliant vehicle has also been eligible for a Government plug-in grant. For more information visit:
gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants.
GM-LICENSED PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES: PROPOSED FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Replacement grants
• Up to £10,000 towards replacement with a zero-emis- sion-capable (ZEC) wheelchair-accessible vehicle
or
• Up to £5,000 towards replacement with a compliant wheelchair-accessible vehicle
or
• Up to £6,000 towards replacement with a ZEC non- wheelchair-accessible vehicle
or
• Up to £3,000 towards replacement with a compliant non-wheelchair-accessible vehicle
or
• Up to £5,000 towards replacement with a compliant minibus
Retrofit grant • Up to £5,000 to retrofit existing vehicle so it is compliant
In addition to grants, eligible owners would also have access to vehicle finance, offering a 0% or low-cost loan up to £10,000.
For proposed vehicle limits etc. - see hackneys opposite. 43
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