"This is not a congestion charge by the front door or back door" Andy Burnham
Today, leaders of the ten Greater Manchester Councils are set to endorse an outline business case for the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan 'to tackle nitrogen dioxide exceedances'.
It's estimated that polluted air contributes to the equivalent of 1,200 deaths a year in Greater Manchester, with some roads in Salford being the highest polluted (see previous Salford Star article – click here).
Measures being proposed include a Clean Air Zone in Salford and the nine other areas of Greater Manchester. The Zones would require owners of high-polluting, non-compliant HGVs, buses, taxis, private hire vehicles, vans and minibuses to pay a daily penalty to drive in Greater Manchester. Taxis and private hire vehicles would pay a proposed £7.50 from 2021 and vans £7.50 from 2023. Heavy goods vehicles and buses would pay a proposed £100.
Cars are being excluded from the scheme... "Modelling shows that including the most-polluting cars would not have reduced air pollution levels any quicker" states the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
"This is due to the size of the Clean Air Zone required in Greater Manchester and the short timescales for implementation – which together mean that upgrading the most-polluting cars in time would not be feasible" it explains "This would result in non-compliant cars travelling across local roads in Greater Manchester, and therefore continuing to contribute to air pollution levels. Furthermore, the inclusion of cars would also impact on more deprived communities, for whom the cost of upgrading to a newer, cleaner vehicle isn't a viable option."
The GMCA adds that these measures won't be introduced without the Government's financial support, although the Authority is proposing funding of £116million to help affected companies move towards low-emission vehicles.
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, argues that the new scheme is not a congestion charge...
"This is not a congestion charge by the front door or back door" he explains "Instead, this is a balanced package of measures to clean up our air without punishing businesses or deprived communities.
"But we need government to guarantee the right level funding to help us tackle the scale of the problem without damaging our local economies" he adds "That includes adequate financial support so we can help businesses make the change to cleaner vehicles. Without this backing we won't be able to do what's required to drastically improve our air quality."
However, the new scheme has been criticised by Manchester Friends of the Earth, which believes the measures do not go far enough, and declares itself 'dismayed that Greater Manchester will not tackle illegal levels of air pollution before 2024'...
"Air pollution is responsible for thousands of premature deaths each year in Greater Manchester, and is a huge burden on the NHS" says Pete Abel from Manchester Friends of the Earth "The Government's own evidence is that the most effective measures are Clean Air Zones covering all polluting vehicles. This must be introduced as soon as possible, along with measures to help people out of their cars and into cleaner methods of transport.
"Everyone has the right to clean air and the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan says air pollution is a 'public health emergency'" he adds "We need urgent action to reduce air pollution in the shortest time possible".
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