Clean out of CAZ charges

Three-year saga ends as plans to make drivers pay up to £60 a day are scrapped

- By JOSEPH TΙΜΑΝ

NO Clean Air Zone charges will be introduced in Greater Manchester, the government has confirmed - ending a three-year saga.

Plans to charge some motorists up to £60 a day for driving on the region's roads were put on hold after a huge public backlash at the start of 2022. It came after more than 1,000 signs and 400 enforcement cameras were installed, costing taxpayers millions of pounds.

The scheme would have seen buses and HGVs charged £60, with vans and minibuses paying £10 and hackney cabs and private hire taxis paying £7.50 every day they drive on almost all roads within Greater Manchester. It was set to come into effect in May 2022.

But Andy Burnham argued that the plans to cut pollution which were made before the pandemic would no longer work due to rising costs prohibiting drivers from upgrading their vehicles.

The government agreed to delay the deadline by which pollution must be cut. Local leaders then put forward alternative plans that they argued would improve air quality without any charges for motorists. However, they had to prove that their 'investment-led' plan would cut air pollution in the shortest possible time, no later than 2026.

The Conservative government initially argued that a Clean Air Zone would still need to be introduced in the city centre.