Greater Manchester sets out next steps for Clean Air Zone

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is to discuss its next steps on the city’s Clean Air Zone, following the publication of final plans to tackle air pollution in the region.

The report, which Greater Manchester’s local authority leaders will discuss in a meeting on January 29th, comes following an eight week consultation held in Autumn 2020, and sets out proposals for a GM-wide charging Clean Air Zone.

Greater Manchester is under direction from the national government to put in place a charging Clean Air Zone. The scheme will see the most polluting, generally older, commercial vehicles charged per day when operating in the city-region, affecting lorries, trucks and vans as well as buses and taxis.

Greater Manchester’s Green City-Region Lead, Cllr Andrew Western, said:

Poor air quality affects us all but particularly the most vulnerable members of our society, and we must act to clean up the air we all breathe.

“Government asked us to continue to progress the Clean Air Zone proposals developed before the COVID-19 pandemic, and I’d like to thank everyone for the crucial feedback given during the consultation.

“We did see brief, short term improvements in air quality due to the pandemic, but as the economy opened again in the second half of 2020, road traffic levels grew quickly, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels by late 2020. Coupled with this, the economic uncertainty led to a significant reduction in the purchase of newer, cleaner vehicles. So analysis has shown that the pandemic won’t lead to a big enough long-term reduction in harmful nitrogen dioxide air pollution on our local roads to meet legal limits without a Clean Air Zone.

“We absolutely recognise the importance of understanding what impact the pandemic has had on our air quality and businesses, so that these are reflected in the final plans and our ongoing discussions with government.

“In particular, we want to ensure that the best possible funding support is in place to help vehicle owners to make the change. It’s a very uncertain time for a lot of people, and getting the right level of funding to support local businesses and organisations before the Clean Air Zone is introduced is absolutely critical.

“There’s a lot of work to carry out in coming months to analyse and understand the information and evidence gathered. All of this will help inform the final plan and how we best ensure our residents are not exposed to the health threats caused by illegal levels of air pollution.”

Following discussion of plans by GMCA, local authorities are expected to vote on final plans by summer 2021. To ensure timely reduction of roadside NO2 pollution levels, it is expected the Clean Air Zone will come into effect in Spring 2022, and some work on implementation has already begun including procurement of some services and cameras needed to enforce restrictions.

Before the Clean Air Zone is introduced, Greater Manchester has already confirmed it has received £41 million from government to help businesses convert to less polluting vehicles, but has set out a total of £150 million of financial support measures. In total, business support schemes proposed include:

• £98m for a Clean Commercial Vehicle Fund for vans, HGVs, coaches and minibuses.
• £25m for a Clean Bus Fund to support retrofit of the existing bus fleet. (Greater Manchester is also working with Government on additional funding for the replacement of vehicles that can’t be retrofitted with new, cleaner vehicles.)
• £28m for a Clean Taxi Fund for taxi and private hire drivers and operators to switch to cleaner vehicles.
• £10m Hardship Fund – dedicated to small businesses and sole traders who could face additional financial concerns to help them switch to compliant vehicles.