Stoke-on-Trent moves ahead with Clean Air Zone plan

Stoke-on-Trent is made up of the towns of Hanley, Fenton, Tunstall, Burslem, Stoke and Longton

A congestion charge to improve air quality in parts of Stoke-on-Trent could be brought in after the council reached an agreement with the government.

The authority had been told to tackle pollution levels and was considering using bus gates.

But the council said it has been told by the government it can now consider a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) as an alternative.

The plans would charge older vans and commercial vehicles but exclude cars.

The council said modelling the use of a CAZ covering Victoria Road in Fenton and the city centre had shown it would improve air quality levels enough.

A review is going to be carried out into the impact of the proposals including the potential charges.

In June, the council's leader Abi Brown, estimated a possible daily charge of between £9 and £35.

In Birmingham's CAZ high-polluting cars face a daily fee of £8 and coaches and lorries £50.

Birmingham's Clean Air Zone launched in June with drivers of high-polluting cars facing a daily fee of £8

The authority said the latest start date for the scheme would be in the second half of 2024.

It added the CAZ would be removed once levels of nitrogen dioxide fell within legal minimum levels and estimated the end date could be the start of 2029.

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Conservative Ms Brown said serious concerns were raised about the alternative of using bus gates which would have partially closed the road to all private vehicles for several hours a day.

She said the authority thought a CAZ would be a better alternative "when compared to the bus gate proposal which only provided air quality benefits in a very small area".

A full business case will be drawn up for both the council and the government to approve and it will include requests for additional funds to support affected drivers.