Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone programme put on hold
The Government has agreed to delay its plan for Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ).
The first phase of the system to crack down on old and polluting vehicles was due to be introduced this May.
But concerns were raised about how small businesses could afford to replace or upgrade their transport fleets, a situation exacerbated by the ongoing shortage of computer chips for new vehicles which has affected supplies.
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, approached the Government last month with a request to delay the introduction, and this afternoon (February 4) a joint statement was issued by Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Andy Burnham, and Cllr Andrew Western, GMCA portfolio lead for clean air.
It said: “We met last week and have had further robust and constructive discussions today to find a solution.
“Air quality is one of our biggest health challenges and we are all completely committed to tackling it.
“We have agreed to a short time-limited pause. We will work together to deliver, by the middle of the year, a plan for clean air for Greater Manchester, one that is fair to the businesses and residents of the city region.
“We will deliver improved air quality as soon as possible, not losing ambition but ensuring we take into account the pandemic, global supply chain challenges, improvements already baked into retrofits and the scope as previously laid out.
“We will now work jointly to meet the Greater Manchester and Government requirements on clean air, as soon as possible, and no later than 2026.”
Yesterday Mayor Burnham published his proposals to achieve a satisfactory solution, adding that failure to lift the current Ministerial Direction leaves all Greater Manchester’s 10 councils with a scheme that will harm businesses and, according to the latest evidence, not achieve compliance by 2024, whereas, a delay to 2026 or 2027 will make the CAZ much fairer while still achieving compliance by the middle of this decade.
