Leeds City Council has confirmed its Clean Air Zone won’t arrive until at least July 2020 – but continues to urge businesses to prepare for the zone and explore financial support options available.
As announced this summer, the ‘Class B’ scheme – along with Birmingham’s ‘Class D’ across-the-board Clean Air Zone – is being held back by Government delays, caused by issues with the supporting vehicle checker tool, as well as the payment tool.
Although Birmingham has since said its scheme could go ahead by July 2020, the date for the Leeds CAZ has been up in the air, with the council now saying it’ll be July at the earliest despite efforts to roll it out as soon as possible.
This includes Leeds City Council’s work to distribute £23m of funding from the Government to help owners, leaseholders and operators of affected vehicles with the costs of switching to cleaner, CAZ-compliant vehicles.
The council is also installing the camera infrastructure, with the work expected to finish in December, providing a network of 300 purpose-built ANPR cameras to police the zone at more than 100 junctions around the perimeter.
The council’s executive board is also due to meet this week to discuss new proposals for exemptions and future emissions standards, including for the taxi and private hire sector.
Councillor James Lewis, executive member with responsibility for air quality, said: “Like most residents in Leeds, we believe that tackling air pollution to protect the health of everyone in Leeds is a priority and we’re working hard to deliver the CAZ as soon as possible.
“We’re already seeing hundreds of cleaner vehicles on our streets, and as the charging zone launch draws nearer we will no doubt see more of the worst polluting vehicles disappear from our roads.
“I strongly encourage every affected business to visit our website today and find out more about what they need to do to prepare for the zone and explore financial support available.”
