Fresh plans are being drawn up to prevent the need for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in Stoke-on-Trent that would have led to some vehicles being charged a daily fee for driving in it.
The UK government has told Stoke-on-Trent City Council to reduce illegal and harmful levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution along a stretch of Victoria Road in Fenton.
The CAZ was identified by the council’s previous administration as the best method for reducing the pollution quickly. But a Daily Focus campaign called for a major rethink highlighting that the scheme would be very bad for businesses.
Now a team from the authority is looking at a fresh business case to put to the government, with a decision expected in the summer.
It follows Council Leader Jane Ashworth saying that the CAZ solution is like “using a sledgehammer to crack a nut”.
Under a CAZ, some vehicles including older buses, taxis, vans and heavy goods vehicles would be charged to drive in to or through the zone. But owners of private cars and motorbikes wouldn’t be charged.
Most pollution is caused by older vehicles, so as time has passed, the levels of pollution have reduced around Victoria Road, but there is still a small pollution exceedance that needs to be tackled.
Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce Policy Adviser Declan Riddell said: “The announcement that the council aims to stop the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in Stoke-on-Trent city centre is welcome news for the business community.
“Proposals would have seen non-compliant vehicles, including vans and HGVs, having to pay to enter the CAZ. Business owners would be faced with the cost of upgrading vehicle fleets and presumably non-compliant delivery vans and HGVs would pass on the charge to their locally based customers within the CAZ.”
The new plan proposes better junctions to allow traffic to flow more smoothly and work to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. The council is also hoping to offer grants to support taxi drivers to upgrade their vehicles.
Meanwhile, Daily Focus is continuing to campaign to stop a controversial bus gate being introduced on Basford Bank next to its A500 and A53 roundabout, which the Government wants implementing to reduce illegal levels of pollution.
Declan added: “We are still extremely concerned by the potential impact of a bus gate, which will prevent any non-compliant vehicles from driving in a westbound direction along Etruria Road (Basford Bank), at peak times of the working week.
“We fear that this proposal will lead to long traffic queues on local roads in Basford and Etruria, with employees struggling to get to and from work.
“Side streets will be turned into “rat runs” and any issues of air quality will simply be moved down the road.
“A pragmatic approach has led to the review of the CAZ and we call for a similar approach to look again at the hugely negative impact of imposing a bus gate at Basford Bank.”
