Andy Burnham responds to petition opposing Clean Air Zone after it reaches 20k signatures

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has defended the upcoming Clean Air Zone charge after a petition against the scheme reached 20,000 signatures.

From May 30th 2022, vehicles that do not meet emissions standards will be charged when driving within the Clean Air Zone, which will cover 493 square miles of Greater Manchester, making it the largest of its kind in the UK.

The scheme targets heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches – all of which will have to pay £60 a day to drive within the zone – vans, which will pay £10, and taxi and private hire vehicles which will both pay £7.50.

While private cars, motorbikes, and mopeds won’t be affected, some vehicles that do not meet emissions standards – known as ‘non-compliant vehicles’ – will still be charged.

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Failure to pay the charge will also result in a £120 fine plus the daily charge.

Yet while the Clean Air Zone is said to be designed to ‘protect everyone’s health by bringing harmful nitrogen dioxide air pollution at the roadside within legal limits’,  there has been widespread criticism and backlash to the scheme, with many saying it will negatively impact local businesses.

A petition has since been set up in opposition to the scheme, which has since gained 19,766 signatures at the time of writing. 

Paul Delve, who launched the Change.org petition, wrote: “Can you remember being asked by him or anyone in Greater Manchester if you wanted this? We were not! What sort of democracy is that? We need to stop this in its tracks! Please help me by signing this petition.”

Andy Burnham has since responded to the controversy surrounding the scheme – which he has publicly backed and supported – saying he ‘owed everyone who signed the courtesy of a reply’.

In a lengthy Twitter thread, Burnham first stressed that he never instigated the scheme nor does he have the legal power to stop it, noting that even the government would struggle to scrap it.

He explained that, as a result of the Supreme Court ruling that urgent action must be taken to protect people from polluted air back in 2015, all ten local Greater Manchester councils were given strict legal instructions to reduce air pollution by 2024.

Burnham wrote: “This is because analysis has shown all 10 GM boroughs have places where air pollution breaches legal limits. The Government’s direction sets a Category C zone as the default solution.”

He also addressed the widely criticised size of the Clean Air Zone, pointing out that the alternative of ‘a patchwork of local zones across ten boroughs would be unworkable’.

Burnham concluded by saying that local Conservative politicians branding the scheme as ‘Andy Burnham’s charge’ is a way to deflect blame away from the Government and let them off the hook for the full support needed, claiming that it suits their political interests but it won’t protect jobs and businesses across the region.

His final tweet read: “I believe the right way to go from here is for GM to fight as one for changes to the scheme to protect jobs and businesses. We will publish our proposals shortly as part of a GM campaign. We hope everyone who has signed this petition will feel able to get behind it.”

The scheme is set to come into place on May 30th 2022. Visit the Clean Air GM website for more information.