More than £10m of Clean Air Zone grants unspent

Newcastle's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was launched in January 2023

More than £10m of Clean Air Zone (CAZ) funding to help people replace their high-polluting vehicles with cleaner models remains unused, a council has said.

Newcastle City Council launched the £15m scheme in November 2022, a couple of months before the first tolls came into force.

But only 1,141 grants, totalling £4.7m, have been paid out from a total of 4,030 applications.

The scheme was previously criticised by traders due to the type of documentation needed, which the council has since relaxed.

Introduced in January 2023, the CAZ has seen older taxis, buses, coaches and lorries which do not comply with emissions standards face charges of £12.50 to £50 a day.

Most of Newcastle city centre, plus the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges, are covered by the scheme.

It has generated almost £7m in toll fees and penalty charges since its launch two years ago, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Labour-led Newcastle City Council said air quality had improved since the CAZ was introduced and there were "no planned changes" to its rules.

Up to £16,000 available

The city council confirmed a further 608 applications, worth £3.9m, had been approved but not claimed.

Both the authority and Gateshead Council urged eligible motorists to apply for funding, with financial help worth up to £16,000 available.

Local authority bosses have been criticised previously by businesses that were not eligible to receive funding.

The grant scheme's original criteria required applicants to prove they had a need to enter the CAZ at least twice a week over a three-month period - something which many small traders said they were unable to provide documentation for.

That rule was subsequently relaxed in 2024, so that any van, light goods vehicle or minibus which falls foul of the tolls and is registered to a home or business address in Newcastle, Gateshead or North Tyneside, does now qualify for upgrade funding.

However, non-compliant vehicles in other neighbouring areas like Northumberland or South Tyneside are still not automatically eligible.