Newcastle & Gateshead Clean Air Zone put on hold

Due to come into force this July, Tyneside transport chiefs have confirmed that a new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) has been postponed indefinitely.

The two authorities said they had “initiated discussions with government officials to agree a revised timeline for the launch of the CAZ”. While no new target start date for the CAZ has yet been set, installation of the scheme’s signs and technology “will progress significantly over the summer".

When active, lorries, buses and coaches that do not comply with emissions standards will have to pay £50 per day to drive into the city centre, while non-compliant vans and taxis will be charged £12.50 per day.

Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said:

“It took significantly longer than we expected to receive final government approval for our plans, along with confirmation of how much funding they would provide for vehicle upgrade grants. This has had an inevitable impact on the time available for us to promote the grants scheme, and for businesses and drivers to access funding and get compliant.

“As we have previously said, our main concern is to improve air quality and a huge amount of work on behalf of councils and government has been focused on transport changes that promote more active and sustainable ways of getting around. It’s also important that we ensure that affected drivers and businesses are given a fair opportunity to prepare and, where possible, take steps that will avoid them having to pay CAZ charges.”