Greater Manchester's Clean Air Zone
Air pollution is linked to a range of health conditions and is said to contribute to early deaths. Greater Manchester (GM) is acting now, to improve air quality on local roads for future generations by introducing the GM Clean Air Zone. The initiative is expected to launch on 30 May 2022. Private cars, motorbikes and mopeds will not be affected, but the following vehicles will have to pay a daily charge if they do not meet certain emission standards:
- Light good vehicles
- Heavy goods vehicles
- Buses
- Coaches
- Hackney cabs
- Private hire vehicles
- Minibuses.
The proposed Clean Air Plan will cover local roads across the whole of Greater Manchester and will operate 24/7. The zone will be enforced by a network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras.
To travel on local roads within the zone, the affected vehicles will need to pay a daily charge which runs midnight to midnight. Failure to pay will result in a penalty charge notice (PCN) in addition to the daily charge. The daily penalties and PCN charges will be:
|
Vehicle type |
Proposed daily penalty for non-compliant vehicles, driving in, out of, within or through Greater Manchester |
Proposed PCN charge (additional to the daily penalty) |
|
Taxis & Private Hire Vehicles |
£7.50 (From end of May 2022, temporary exemption for Greater Manchester-licensed vehicles until end of May 2023) |
£120 |
|
Heavy Goods Vehicles |
£60 (from end of May 2022) |
£120 |
|
Buses |
£60 (from end of May 2022) |
£120 |
|
Coaches |
£60 (from end of May 2022) |
£120 |
|
Light Goods Vehicles |
£10 (from end of May 2023) |
£120 |
|
Cars, motorbikes, and mopeds |
N/A |
N/A |
Non-compliant vehicles are Euro 5 or earlier (Diesel) and Euro 3, or earlier (Petrol).
Some permanent and temporary discounts and exemptions are proposed. A vehicle checker has also been developed to help determine which vehicles will need to pay the daily charge to enter or travel within the Clean Air Zone.
Will financial support be available to help upgrade to cleaner vehicle?
Alongside the Clean Air Zone, GM has secured a package of funding from UK Gov totalling over £120m to mitigate negative social and economic effects on businesses and individuals most affected by the proposals, to support them upgrading to compliant vehicles.
Applications for financial support to move to cleaner vehicles will open from November 2021. Support will be available to eligible businesses and people and organisations, in GM to either replace or retrofit non-compliant vehicles. Moving to a compliant vehicle before the Clean Air Zone is introduced means you will not need to pay a daily charge.
Support will be available as a lump-sum grant, or as a contribution towards vehicle financing or a combination of the two. You can see if your vehicle is affected by using the vehicle checker on the Clean Air website here.
How can I find out more?
We will of course keep you updated as we learn more but for more detailed information about the GM Clean Air Plan, please visit Clean Air Greater Manchester website.
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