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Brakes applied to Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone
The 30 May 2022 launch date of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone has been postponed, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) announced last week (4 February 2022).
One of the main reasons cited for the delay is that COVID-19 and Brexit have impacted on supply chains and the availability of new compliant vehicles. Some Logistics UK members have reported delays of up to 18 months from the purchase of new vehicles to their delivery.
The squeeze on new vehicle availability has also had an impact on the second-hand vehicle market, with the price of second-hand vans soaring. This has particularly impacted on smaller operators. These impacts have made it harder for operators of all sizes to upgrade to cleaner vehicles. In Logistics UK Logistics Performance Tracker #13 report from November 2021, 71% of respondents reported difficulties purchasing or leasing HGVs or vans in the past year, with the leasing of new vans the most problematic.
The Greater Manchester CAZ is the largest of the four CAZs scheduled to be introduced in English cities in 2022, the others being Bradford, Bristol and Sheffield.
A joint statement from Environment Minister Jo Churchill MP, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Councillor Andrew Western, GMCA’s clean air lead, said that a short time-limited pause had been agreed between GMCA and government following “robust and constructive discussions”.
“We will work together to deliver, by the middle of the year, a plan for clean air for Greater Manchester, one that is fair to the businesses and residents of the city-region,” the joint statement said, “We will now work jointly to meet the Greater Manchester and government requirements on clean air, as soon as possible, and no later than 2026.”
Mags Simpson, Head of Policy Engagement, Logistics UK, said: “Given COVID-19 challenges and supply chain issues, most notably the global squeeze on the availability of new vehicles, this delay to the full implementation of Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone seems sensible.
“We will continue to campaign for an approach that balances the need to improve the air quality in our major cities like Greater Manchester with the need to ensure that our members can continue to supply urban areas with essential goods and services at a cost which remains commercially viable.”
To discover the latest on Clean Air Zone plans, Logistics UK has updated its members-only briefing note for February 2022.
*www.logistics.org.uk/urban
Published On: 10/02/2022 16:00:50
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