Cleaner vehicle grants to end as millions unspent

Applications for grants opened three years ago

A grant scheme to help people buy cleaner vehicles and avoid tolls is set to end with millions of pounds unspent.

Newcastle City Council announced it would stop taking requests for the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) upgrade grants on 30 January.

Less than half of £15m - funded by the previous government - to help drivers and businesses with the purchase of newer vehicles has been handed out since applications opened in November 2022.

Labour councillor Juna Sathian, cabinet member for climate and transport, said she encouraged "anyone who is eligible who has not yet applied to do so as soon as possible".

A council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Wednesday that roughly £8m was left in the pot.

The local authority said any money remaining after all applications had been processed following the January deadline would be diverted towards upgrading the region's bus fleets to cleaner models, to deliver "maximum benefit" in emissions hotspots like Percy Street.

Sathian said: "We can see from the latest pollution data that our air quality is improving since the introduction of the Clean Air Zone.

"We are seeing the positive impact of people switching to vehicles with cleaner engines and the grants scheme has given financial support to many people who have made this important change."

The council said it had paid out more than £5.5m so far to more than 1,100 local businesses, tradespeople and taxi drivers, and committed a further £900,000 for bus fleet improvements.

Grants have been issued for 620 taxis, 424 LGVs, 65 HGVs, and 34 coaches.