The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Leaders row over anti-pollution plan
PLANS to cut illegal pollution levels in Newcastle with new city centre road tolls were branded a “big failure” in a heated clash between top councillors.
A new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) due to come into force next July will see the highest-polluting lorries, buses, coaches, vans, and taxis charged either £12.50 or £50 a day to enter the city centre, though all private cars will be exempt.
The controversial scheme sparked a row on Monday night as Newcastle City Council’s Lib Dem opposition leader slammed the proposals for a lack of ambition.
Coun Nick Cott claimed that the CAZ “was announced with a big bang and it seems to be going out with a whimper”, with the council having scaled back earlier plans for it to cover a much wider area and include fees for car drivers.
The opposition leader told a council cabinet meeting that the tolls would cause problems for people making “essential” road journeys, risked increasing bus fares, and failed to address “critical” issues – branding it “one big failure for this city council”.
Coun Nick Forbes, the authority’s Labour leader, accused the Liberal Democrat of “talking out of your exhaust pipe” and demanded to know if the opposition party would have imposed a congestion charge-like toll instead that would target cars too.
Coun Cott said that the Lib Dems “of course” supported the principle of a CAZ but “would have done it differently”, adding that the meeting was not the forum to question the opposition’s ideas.
The CAZ is being introduced in response to a government order telling local councils to bring down illegal pollution levels in the shortest time possible.
Coun Clare Penny-evans,
Labour’s cabinet member for climate change, also revealed that the authority will soon announce changes for the Coast Road, West Road, and the Great North Road.
The CAZ had been due to start this year, but was pushed back amid delays caused by a High Court battle and the pandemic.
Grants of up to £20,000 are expected to be available to help upgrade vehicles that would be subject to the tolls, but those are yet to be confirmed as the offer is dependent on the Government approving a £23m funding request.