Honest John News Driving

Manchester to launch consultation on revised clean air zone plan

Sarah Tooze, Consumer Editor
Thu, 18 Aug 2022
  • A public consultation on Greater Manchester's revised clean air zone plan is due to be launched in early 2023.
  • Car and van drivers will not be charged any fees under the new proposals. 
  • Greater Manchester has until 2026 to bring nitrogen dioxide on local roads to within legal limits.

Residents in Greater Manchester will be able to have their say on changes to the clean air zone (CAZ) plan when a public consultation launches in 2023. 

The Greater Manchester CAZ was originally due to be introduced on 30 May 2022, and would have resulted in non-compliant private hire vehicles being charged £7.50 and vans drivers paying £10 to enter the zone. Drivers of coaches and HGVs would have also paid £60 if their vehicles didn't meet the clean air rules. 

However, in February the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Greater Manchester local authority leaders asked the Government to lift its legal direction for the CAZ to be introduced as soon as possible amid concerns about financial hardship for local people and the availability of compliant vehicles.

A new Government direction now requires Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities to bring nitrogen dioxide on local roads to within legal limits as soon as possible and by no later than 2026.

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Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities were given until July 2022 to submit a case for a new Greater Manchester clean air plan to Government. 

It calls for an investment-led clean air plan with no charging CAZ, although environment secretary George Eustice suggested Greater Manchester should consider a smaller charging CAZ covering Manchester city centre.

The revised plan will be subject to a public consultation in early 2023, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Greater Manchester will then review the responses to the consultation and, if needed, adapt the proposals. It is anticipated that a decision could be made to proceed with the new Greater Manchester clean air plan in summer 2023.

Manchester

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “The Case for a New Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan outlines how Greater Manchester would meet air quality legal limits in a way which is fair to local people and businesses and does not create the risk of financial hardship.

“Our city is still recovering from the pandemic and we don’t want the Government to level-down our city-centre with their proposals to charge businesses from across Greater Manchester who have to travel through or work within the proposed charging area.

“Even a small charging clean air zone would result in a considerable financial burden for the many businesses moving products and people through Manchester city centre, providing a significant setback in economic recovery from the impact of the pandemic, and during a cost-of-living crisis."

“The Government wants us to charge Greater Manchester businesses at a time when they can least afford it.”

When will the Manchester CAZ be introduced?

There is no confirmed date for the Greater Manchester clear air zone, (CAZ) only that the Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities have to bring nitrogen dioxide on local roads to within legal limits "as soon as possible and by no later than 2026".

The Greater Manchester CAZ had been due to launch in May 2022 but was postponed due to concerns about financial hardship for residents and the availability of compliant vehicles.

What are the ANPR cameras installed for the CAZ being used for now?

The automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras that have already been installed in Greater Manchester ahead of the original clean air zone are being used to "better understand" the current vehicle fleet on the city-region’s roads and their emissions. 

Once Greater Manchester’s local authorities meet their air quality legal limits, the ANPR cameras will no longer be used for clean air plan purposes. Instead, Greater Manchester would work with Government to consider whether they could be used for potential law enforcement activity related to the detection of crime (subject to a full public consultation). 

Ask HJ

Why is my car not compliant with the London ULEZ?

My car is a BMW 318d on a 14 plate. I did a check on a couple of websites and it came back as not acceptable for the London Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Yet I tried another car, a year older and it was acceptable. This was also a diesel, same model, but older. I also noticed a Mazda RX8, which was 16 years old and I believe quite high on emissions, and again this was acceptable for ULEZ. My question is why is mine not acceptable, yet older cars are OK? It doesn't seem fair at all. Clean air zones will become the norm in towns and cities fairly soon, so I will have to consider selling it after only owning it for a year.
ULEZ compliance is determined by total tailpipe emissions. It isn't decided on the age of the vehicle or its engine's Euro rating. Petrol cars emit less harmful emissions (particulate matter and nitrogen oxides) which means a 16-year-old Euro4 can qualify whereas a 7 or 8-year-old Euro5 may not. For more information on the London ULEZ, see: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/ulez-ultra-low-emissions-zone-london/
Answered by Dan Powell
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Ask HJ

Which petrol cars are ULEZ compliant?

Are there any petrol cars built between, say, 1990 and 2010, which are Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) compliant? Can you refer me go any listing of such makes?
ULEZ rules for petrols state the engine must meet Euro 4 standards or better, which is generally most cars registered after 2005. However, ULEZ is governed by tailpipe emissions and not solely Euro ratings (which means some qualify from as early as 2001). We don't have a list of these cars, but you can check individual models with our ULEZ checker tool: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/ulez-ultra-low-emissions-zone-london/#how-can-i-check-if-my-car-is-ulez-compliant
Answered by Dan Powell
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