Green zone will do ‘almost nothing’

SCOTLAND’S first low emission zone (LEZ) will come into force just one minute before the SNP’s deadline – but campaigners claim the plans will do ‘almost nothing’ to improve the environment.

Glasgow City Council yesterday published details of proposals which will see a crackdown on buses entering the centre before further restrictions are enforced for diesel and high-polluting cars, taxis and vans.

The move, which is to be followed with zones in Scotland’s other cities, was first announced last year but campaigners have hit out at the proposals.

Friends of the Earth Scotland labelled it a ‘No Ambition Zone’ and said Glasgow City Council’s LEZ proposals would only apply to 20 per cent of buses.

It also raised concerns over a lack of planning with no signs to show the LEZ exists, and no cameras to catch offenders when it first becomes operational on December 31, 2018.

Low emission zones are planned for Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee and are set to be in place by 2020.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Emilia Hanna said: ‘A low emission zone which has no signs to mark it, no new cameras to catch offenders and continues to allow almost every dirty vehicle into the city centre, is not a low emission zone.’

But the Federation of Small Business Scottish policy convener Andy Willox said: ‘FSB believes that firms and residents must be given time to adapt – that’s why a phased approach is so important.’

Councillor Anna Richardson, convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, said: ‘It’s recognised that the introduction of an LEZ needs to be proportionate and managed in such a way that ambition and practicality can be balanced.’