It is feared that new clean air tolls in Newcastle will cause “misery and hardship to many” without extra government cash support – but there are no plans to delay the scheme yet.
Daily fees of up to £50 per day will be charged on some high-polluting vehicles coming into the city centre from this July, under a new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) designed to cut illegal levels of dangerous emissions.
But local council officials have been left dismayed over the fact that, with just over four months until the scheme is due to launch, the government has yet to give it final approval or respond to a request for extra grant funding to help people upgrade to cleaner models that will be able to dodge the tolls.
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Newcastle City Council’s leader and environmental chief both warned on Monday night that a failure to assist those affected by the heavy charges could have dire consequences, with particular fears for taxi drivers and independent business owners.
Lorries, buses and coaches that do not comply with emissions standards will be charged £50 per day to drive into the city centre CAZ, while the worst-polluting vans and taxis will have to pay £12.50 per day.
The tolls will only affect older vehicles which do not meet environmental regulations and all private cars will be exempt.
The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has so far failed to respond to a £23m request from Newcastle and Gateshead councils that would allow them to offer upgrade grants of up to £20,000 per vehicle.
The councils were offered £16m to pay for such grants last year but say that sum is based on the realities of a pre-pandemic economy and does not take into account the current cost of living crisis.
Clare Penny-Evans, the council’s cabinet member for climate change, told a cabinet meeting on Monday: “It is not acceptable to be in a situation where we are given a grant based on out-of-date costings. The world has changed since then – Brexit, the pandemic, cost of living is increasing.
“We need to make sure we are given funding in order to mitigate for any of our residents who have to change vehicles or make changes to be part of our Clean Air Zone and be compliant.”
Greater Manchester’s highly contentious CAZ plan has been delayed after mayor Andy Burham asked the government for more time to revise the proposals.
Responding to concerns from city Lib Dem opposition leader Nick Cott on Monday, Coun Penny-Evans confirmed that Newcastle would still "like to go ahead with the legal orders at the moment, but we are continuing to put pressure on the government in terms of funding.”
Council Labour leader Nick Forbes, who had earlier announced that he will be standing down in May, added: “The government cannot demand us to introduce a scheme and then not fund the mitigation of that scheme effectively.
“That will cause misery and hardship to many people if it is not done properly.
“It is of serious concern that our calls for clarity and appropriate resources are falling, at the moment, on deaf ears.
“We will continue lobbying hard on that in the coming weeks, but the timescale of implementation is presently unchanged – as it should be, because we know we need to clean up air and it is important that we get this right for the protection of children and vulnerable people in particular.”
Poor air quality is linked to more than 300 deaths on Tyneside each year.
A Defra spokesperson said last week that it was “working closely with local councils to drive down pollution and improve public health”.
They added: “To support Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council, we have provided them with almost £20m to implement their CAZ scheme and to develop grant schemes.
“We are assessing the detailed business case provided by the councils alongside our independent expert panels.”
The Newcastle CAZ, being introduced in response to a legal order from the government to cut air pollution, was meant to come into force in January 2021, but was pushed back amid delays caused by a High Court battle and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The proposed toll zone covers most of Newcastle city centre, including the routes in over the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges.
