The introduction of Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone is being delayed until July, the government has announced.
The controversial scheme was due to come into force in May, but the GMCA has now been given more time to submit a revised plan.
The announcement comes a day after hundreds of taxi drivers protested against the proposals, while Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urged the government to ‘take the politics out’ of the situation and work together on a solution.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “The government has carefully considered the Mayor’s proposal and following meetings last week and further discussions today, the Environment Secretary has agreed to allow a short delay to the implementation of the Clean Air Zone.
“This will allow Greater Manchester to provide further evidence and a revised plan by July setting out how it will deliver legal levels of NO2 as soon as possible, and no later than 2026.”
Under the initial Clean Air Zone plans, drivers of ‘non-compliant’ vans and taxis would have been charged when driving into or within Greater Manchester from May.
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The charges include a £60 fee for buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles, £10 for vans and minibuses and £7.50 for Hackney cabs and private hire vehicles.
The plans are aimed at slashing high levels of air pollution in the area, with it estimated to cause 1,000 deaths a year here and with the region having 152 separate stretches of road on which nitrogen dioxide is at illegally high levels.
But it comes at an uncertain time while the world continues to struggle to respond to the pandemic.
During a visit to Greater Manchester yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the plan needed to be put on hold to ‘avoid stuffing up businesses’.
The Prime Minister had previously branded the plan, which would see the most polluting vehicles having to pay £60 a day, ‘completely unworkable’.
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https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/breaking-greater-manchesters-clean-air-22990088
