U-turn urged on plan to end clean vehicle grants

TAXI drivers have called for a U-turn on plans to end a grant scheme designed to help people buy cleaner vehicles and avoid tolls in Newcastle's Clean Air Zone (CAZ), with millions of pounds still unspent.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

Newcastle City Council recently announced that it will stop taking applications for CAZ upgrade grants, worth up to £16,000, on January 30.

The money is intended to help individuals and businesses swap high-polluting vehicles that don’t comply with the CAZ’s regulations for newer models.

Despite more than 1,100 grants being issued since 2022, around £8m of an original £15m provided by the Government for the scheme remains unused and is now expected to be handed over to help bus companies upgrade their fleets.

But members of the Durham Taxi & Private Hire Association are now pleading with decision-makers to make the grants available to them, having been excluded up until now.

Taxi drivers in Newcastle, Gateshead, and North Tyneside have been eligible to apply for funding of up to £3,500 per vehicle.