GLASGOW LEZ LUNACY
GLASGOW LEZ SCHEME DUBBED A ‘DEAD DUCK’ AS IT FACES FRESH LEGAL CHALLENGE
Glasgow businesses are leading a backlash against the city’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) as the council’s own data suggests it is no longer necessary to improve air pollution levels. The scheme, which bans entry to the city centre for non-compliant petrol and diesel cars - came into effect in June. But, according to financial website, This is Money, an independent air quality review has found that Glasgow’s current emission levels are already compliant with all objectives set out by Air Quality Scotland.
William Paton, who runs an accident repair garage within the zone, says the scheme is hitting local businesses and is leading a legal case against the LEZ stating that it’s unlawful.
Glasgow became the first city to enforce the zone with three other Scottish LEZ schemes set to follow in 2024. Dundee’s zone will be enforced from 30 May 2024, and similar schemes in the centre of Aberdeen and Edinburgh from 1 June 2024.
The scheme is far stricter than London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ), both of which have daily charges for drivers who enter in non-compliant vehicles. Instead, the Scottish LEZ scheme is a blanket ban on older cars which is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - and with harsh punishments for those who fail to adhere to the restrictions.
A driver entering the LEZ in a non-compliant older car will be hit with a £60 penalty charge notice - and if they break the rules again within a 90-day window, the PCN amount doubles each time.
Glasgow City Council says the LEZ is ‘an essential measure if Glasgow is to tackle the harmful air pollution that has dogged parts of the city centre for decades’. But local businesses and organisations across the city are backing Mr Paton’s fight against the Glasgow LEZ, saying its enforcement is now redundant, dubbing it a ‘dead duck’.
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This comes after a recent independent report states that with the introduction of the city’s lower emission buses the air pollution targets are already being met. The report said that buses had been the biggest contributor to emissions in the city, but since 2022 Glasgow’s entire fleet of buses has been updated and are now compliant following the first phase of the LEZ.
Mr Paton has now been given the green light from judge Lady Poole to start a legal challenge against the scheme. A procedural hearing for the case was heard on 8 September and a judicial review is set to take place on 17 October.
Paton, who runs 60-year- old local business, Patons Accident Repair Centre, in Glasgow’s Townhead, also raised a legal challenge against enforcement of the LEZ just hours before it was due to go live on 1 June. He took the local authority to court claiming the move will put him and other local companies out of business. However, a judge refused the motion then, saying the ‘balance of convenience’ lay heavily in favour of the local authority.
Paton has outlined his new position stating: “The data the council is relying on to proceed to phase two [enforcement of non-compliant cars] is over half a decade out of date. The buses are now totally compliant and we know that without any further action, emissions will continue to fall due to the natural cycle of cleaner vehicles replacing older vehicles.”
He added: “The council’s impact assessments show that phase two will massively and disproportionately affect those who can least afford to make the changes required to comply – including those on lower incomes, those with special care needs, those with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. It also shows it will greatly increase inequality and drive the poverty related attainment gap.
OCTOBER 2023 PHTM
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