The leader of Rochdale’s Conservatives says Greater Manchester’s clean air zone should be cancelled after intense backlash from drivers. The car tax zone is meant to launch on May 29, 2022, although this has been put into question after numerous protests and criticism from local residents, politicians and motorists.
As part of the changes, drivers of certain vehicles would face daily charges to drive into the area, which is set to be the biggest in the UK.
High-polluting vehicles like lorries, buses and coaches would be charged £60 per day when driving through Greater Manchester.
A year later, non-compliant vans would be charged £10 while taxis and private hire cars would see daily costs of £7.50.
Recently, it was announced a £120million funding boost would be “paused”.
READ MORE: Car tax rates 2022: How much you’ll pay is going up
“People can’t afford it,” he told Manchester Evening News.
Councillor Dearnley continued, saying: “We are on the border with Yorkshire, where they are not doing anything so stupid, and it’s going to affect tradespeople.
“If a friend of mine has a plumber come over the border to Littleborough, they are not going to come – or they are going to charge you £10 to come.
“It’s not just going to hit people with vehicles, it’s going to hit the public.
“[Tradespeople] are just not going to come and even services into our area.
“It should be scrapped as it has been in Leeds.”
This comes as Eamonn Boylan, chief executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority, called on an “urgent and fundamental joint policy review”.
He cited global supply chain issues as one of the key reasons for local businesses not being able to comply with the new rules.
It is set to be the UK’s biggest CAZ, spanning 10 local authority areas across Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford).
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Automobiles News Click Here