Andy Burnham has hit back at the government's latest proposals for a city centre Clean Air Zone, which would see van drivers being charged along with buses, coaches, taxis and lorries.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester had recently put forward plans for a non-charging CAZ, focusing on upgrading the most polluting heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and buses, in order to meet NO2 limits by the revised deadline of 2026. Mr Burnham also wanted any CAZ to be Category B rather than Category C - so that van drivers would be excluded.
Earlier this week, Environment Secretary George Eustice wrote a letter to Mr Burnham, in which he claimed there is 'little robust evidence' that offering funding for vehicle upgrades alone without charges would bring pollution below legal limits. The Secretary of State also said that a Category C scheme would still be preferable.
READ MORE : The latest twist in the Clean Air Zone saga - and how Greater Manchester has reacted
He wrote: "A highly-targeted Category C charging scheme, over a small area where NO2 impacts are most concentrated, in practice Manchester city centre, could represent a path between two extremes, achieving most of the public health benefits of the original scheme while greatly reducing the potential impacts on local businesses."
In a scathing response sent yesterday (June 2) Mr Burnham told Mr Eustice that he is 'extremely disappointed' that the government are 'seeking to dismiss' his most recent proposals. He also criticised the Conservative Party for 'promises' made during the run-up to the local elections in relation to scrapping a charging CAZ in Greater Manchester.
Mr Burnham wrote: "We are extremely disappointed and surprised to receive your letter which seeks to dismiss Greater Manchester’s developing plan for a non-charging category B Clean Air Zone (CAZ) and instead to continue to push Greater Manchester to implement a charging Category C CAZ. It would also appear somewhat premature, given Greater Manchester’s revised plan is due to be submitted to government on 1 July."
He continued: "During the recent elections, your Conservative MPs and council candidates across Greater Manchester promised to scrap any form of charging CAZ. Your letter confirms the truth however, that it is your Government’s policy to impose a charging CAZ on Greater Manchester, as you have done to other cities.
"As you will be well aware, it was your Government that issued a legal direction on all ten Greater Manchester councils which required every district to take action to reduce emissions by 2024, and effectively dictated the size and charging nature of the original scheme. At every stage, Greater Manchester has been required to follow all parts of your statutory guidance, including approvals by officials and by Ministers."
Mr Burnham went on to say that the government's proposals would lead to 80,000 van drivers being slapped with daily charges, along with taxis and private hire vehicles. He added: "For government to seek to impose a Category C Clean Air Zone demonstrates no understanding of the nature of the air quality problem in Greater Manchester and would fundamentally damage our economy.
"Your letter references what, in the absence of evidence, we assume can only be an arbitrary reduction of the previous Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone (designed to comply with your legal direction) by 95pc. This demonstrates that government has no understanding of the economy of Greater Manchester which sees vehicles from across the conurbation trading in the city centre. Nor does it acknowledge that tens of thousands of vehicles from across Greater Manchester would still require the right level of support via a financial incentive scheme to ensure that they can afford to change vehicles in these challenging economic conditions.
"Your proposal would see this considerable number of our businesses across Greater Manchester – with 80,000 non-compliant vans across the ten boroughs alone - subject to a daily charge- especially van owners and Taxi and Private Hire drivers which will need to enter the city-centre for their business purposes. That is why Greater Manchester is clear that the right plan needs to be based upon the right investment led financial support scheme."
