New Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone plan 'still doesn't go far enough'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Greater Manchester’s new clean air plan ‘still doesn’t go far enough’, anti-pollution campaigners have said. Ministers confirmed on Thursday morning (January 23) Andy Burnham’s ‘investment-led approach’ will go ahead, meaning no charges will be issued to drive on the region's roads.

It aims to reduce emissions with an £86m package to invest in cleaner buses and taxis, and reduce congestion on key roads. The decision brings a three-year saga on clean air to an end, after plans to charge some motorists up to £60 a day for driving in Greater Manchester were put on hold following a huge public backlash at the start of 2022.

The mayor’s alternative plan was unveiled in December 2023, and was waiting for government sign-off since then. Andy Burnham heralded the announcement as ‘a truly great outcome’, but opposition to the move remains.

While cabbies are concerned some £8m of funding won’t cover the cost of upgrading nearly two-thirds of Greater Manchester’s 1,100-strong taxi fleet, clean air campaigners say more needs to be done. “The long-awaited approval of Greater Manchester's clean air plan is a good first step, but as it stands it still does not go far enough,” said Maddy Dawe, from Asthma + Lung UK. “Whilst we welcome the measures outlined in the plan, they are only designed to cut air pollution levels to just below legal limits, far above the internationally recognised guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO). “Without striving to meet WHO guidelines, Greater Manchester will not achieve the rapid reduction in air pollution necessary to safeguard people's health, particularly those with lung conditions. “Greater Manchester has had the highest rate of air pollution of any region in the UK for two years,