Greater Manchester leaders call for Clean Air Zone to be free

The Clean Air Zone scheme was due to start in May but it has been paused for a review

No vehicles should be charged in Greater Manchester's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) which is still under review, the region's leaders have agreed.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has written to the prime minister calling for a non-charging scheme to help fund vehicle upgrades.

The CAZ was due to start in May but has been paused for a review.

Mr Burnham has also criticised Boris Johnson for suggesting in parliament he was the one who designed the scheme.

He said it was a government minister who had asked the ten Greater Manchester councils to model a charging CAZ and not him.

CAZs are designed to encourage people to drive less-polluting vehicles - those with electric engines or more modern petrol and diesel engines.

'Incentives'

The controversial rollout of Greater Manchester's CAZ was put on hold in February and a revised plan is due in July.

A new ministerial direction requiring Greater Manchester to comply with legal limits on air pollution was issued, delaying the deadline by two years to 2026.

Regional leaders now believe they can comply with clean air targets without a charging scheme, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Cameras could instead be used to identify non-compliant vehicles and signpost them to financial support, they said, but this would require more funding.

In the letter to Mr Johnson, Mr Burnham calls for a non-charging Category B CAZ - which would exclude vans, motorhomes, mopeds and cars completely.

He wrote: "Any new scheme should be based on incentives for individuals and businesses to change vehicles rather than a charging penalty regime.

"But, to succeed, this will require your government to agree to the extra financial investment needed to enable vehicle upgrades to happen without the owners incurring unacceptable costs."

Clean Air Zone charges, similar to those in Birmingham and Bath, have been paused in Greater Manchester

Mr Burnham also addressed Mr Johnson's criticism of the CAZ during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

Mr Johnson told parliament the scheme devised by local leaders was a "thoughtless" plan that would have "damaged business".

Mr Burnham said the government had signed off on the original scheme and the ten Greater Manchester councils had asked for it to be scrapped "due to the fact it had become unworkable following the pandemic".