Revised Low Emission Zone plan ‘should be in place by new year’
Revised plans for Edinburgh's Low Emission Zone should be in place by the start of the new year, deputy council leader Cammy Day has said.
The Snp-labour coalition's proposals for a city-centre ban on the most polluting vehicles were rejected by the transport committee last week and officials were sent back to make changes to the boundaries for the scheme and the plan to allow motorists a two-year grace period before enforcement begins.
The Tories predicted the delay could mean a final plan for the LEZ was postponed until after the council elections next May.
But now Cllr Day has said he is confident the administration can get the scheme back on track, with suitable adjustments, much sooner than that.
He said: “It will go ahead. There will be a rethink and we’ll bring it back to committee with an update plan and we’ll have to do a bit more work behind the scenes to get another party on board with us and I’m very confident we will.
“It will be a delay but there won’t be a cancellation.”
The LEZ scheme would ban diesel cars registered before September 2015 and petrol cars registered before January 2006, as well as HGVS and buses that do not meet the Euro VI emission requirements, from a 1.2 square mile area of the city centre. It was due to be introduced in May 2022 with enforcement beginning in June 2024.
At last week’s committee
meeting the Tories voted tactically with the Greens and Lib Dems to defeat the coalition motion to approve the scheme as drawn up.
Each party had different objections to the proposals – the Greens wanted more emphasis on reducing greenhouse gases, not just NO2; the Lib Dems wanted to revive an earlier plan to have a city-wide ban on noncompliant buses and HGVS; and the Tories claimed the
scheme would be expensive and achieve little because air quality was getting better anyway.
But the when the Lib Dem and Tory amendments had been rejected, the votes of all the opposition parties in favour of the Green amendment was enough to force the rethink.
And the following day, the Lib Dems warned the administration not to attempt to bring back the same pro
posals and try to "ram" them through at the next meeting of the transport committee, claiming such a move would undermine the reputation of the council.
It is understood talks about a revised plan are likely to focus on adjusting the boundary of the zone and shortening the two-year grace period.
Councillor Day said: “We will be having some in depth discussions with the other political parties. I think there is a will among all the political parties to have an LEZ and help contribute to the city's 2030 net zero ambition.
“Obviously the current proposal didn't suit everybody so we have to have a rethink, but I'm confident that at least by the beginning of the new year we will have our plans in place to proceed with an LEZ.”
The other day a display of charity Christmas cards in Marks & Spencer caught my eye. However, when I looked through it something seemed to be missing. It took me a couple of minutes to work out what it was – not a single card related to the birth of Jesus, which is what Christmas actually celebrates.
I could hardly believe that Marks had erased the Nativity from their cards, so the following day I went back and searched all the other displays in the entire store: individual cards, multi-packs and even Christmas gift cards. In the end, I could only find a single card relating to the Christmas story. The fact that Marks are only selling a single design relating to the Nativity – no shepherds, wise men or angels – leads me to think that it was an afterthought.
Although practising Christians are certainly a minority in the country these days, there is probably still a majority of people for whom Christianity, if not our religion, is still an essential part of our culture. Imagine Marks & Spencer treating a much smaller group, such as the transgender community, so shabbily – it’s almost inconceivable. Christians and cultural conservatives, however, are a different matter.
Offering only a single card relating to the Christmas story for sale is a disgrace: St Michael is really taking the Mickey.
OTTO INGLIS Crossgates, Fife