...CAZ
CRISIS...CAZ CRISIS..
GREATER MANCHESTER CLEAN AIR ZONE CHARGES AND LOCATIONS SET OUT IN REVISED PLAN
Transport bosses have set out what a new Clean Air Zone would look like if Greater Manchester is required to introduce daily charges for some vehicles. Manchester World reports that local leaders insist they no longer want any charges, but the government has told them to prepare plans for charging certain vehicles in the city centre only. It comes around a year after the controversial scheme to charge taxis, vans, buses and lorries across all of the city-region’s
roads –
except for motorways – was put on hold following a public backlash. Since then, Greater Manchester has called for an ‘investment-led approach’ instead of charging any vehicles. This means owners of vehicles which do not meet emissions standards would be offered funding for cleaner models, instead of paying daily penalties. Local authorities – who have been instructed to tackle illegal levels of pollution on the city-region’s roads – put this new proposal to the government last summer. However,
in January the
government asked for more evidence
to show that this
approach would be the quickest way of cleaning up the air. This includes analysing the impact introducing charges only in the city centre would have. This modelling data which will be used to compare the two approaches is now being prepared, but it will not be ready until the end of June. Mayor Andy Burnham has said that local leaders will still be calling
52
for all CAZ charges to be scrapped, but he explained that it is now ‘highly unlikely’ that any charges would be introduced other than in parts of Manchester and Salford. Transport bosses have now set out what the CAZ would look like if charges were imposed. The only area where any vehicles would be charged under the new ‘bench- mark’ CAZ is within the inner relief road. This means that vehicles travelling on the Mancunian Way, Great Ancoats Street or Trinity Way would not be charged unless they enter the city centre. Like the previous plans, cars would be exempt from any charges but buses, taxis and lorries which do not meet emissions standards would have to pay. Unlike the previous plans, Greater Manchester’s
‘starting point’ is
now for vans to be exempt from charges. But according to a report, Greater Manchester has been asked to model a Category C zone as well which would see vans charged. The daily charges would be the same as previously proposed – £7.50 for taxis and private hire vehicles, £60 for buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles and £10 for vans and minibuses. The funding available for vehicle
upgrades would also be the same as before, but transport bosses will look at the impact of increasing the value of these grants by 22.5 per cent to account for inflation. The report, which was presented to councillors on Greater Manches- ter’s Air Quality Administration Committee on Monday 27 February, also says that the earliest realistic start date for the scheme would be 2024. This is to allow time for a public consultation on city centre charges and move signs and cameras. However, local leaders are calling for the cash offered for vehicles upgrades to be opened up as soon as possible. Bury council leader Eamonn O’Brien, who now chairs the committee, said Greater Manchester has already had some early discussions with the government about opening up certain funds soon. He said: “The investment-led non- charging zone remains the policy of the ten local authorities. We believe it can be delivered. “We believe it should be started as soon as possible so that we can get that investment into the wider community. But clearly, there are still some hurdles to jump through from government before we’re in a position to do that.” The government has also requested further evidence of how illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide on the A58 Bolton Road in Bury will be addressed. Transport bosses have said this will be done by rolling out new zero emissions buses in the area when the first buses are brought under public control later this year.
MARCH 2023 PHTM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
