Sadiq Khan discusses ULEZ concerns
A food bank in Newcastle is facing hundreds of pounds in fines after its application for an exemption from the city’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was rejected.
Kenton Food Bank makes frequent deliveries into the city centre with its diesel Mercedes van, supporting people who are struggling or on low incomes. Having been previously assured their toll would be waived, the small outfit racked up dozens of late-payment fines.
The Newcastle and Gateshead CAZ was put in place in January for taxis, buses and HGVs falling foul of emissions standards, with a £12.50 daily charge imposed. In July, this was extended to vans, but cars remain exempt.
Council accounts show earnings of £311,290 through charges and £214,996 in Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) between its introduction and the end of July.
The sizeable take has caused backlash from local businesses and charities that have “fallen through the cracks” of the system. Those in Newcastle are not alone.
Don’t miss… Clean Air Zone ‘trap’ catches drivers out as they refuse to fly from UK airport
Loree Moran-Wilson, Founder and Project Lead at Kenton Foodbank (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
A scheme for grants of up to £4,500 was put in place to help upgrade non-compliant light goods vehicles – of which over £1.3million have been handed out so far – and exemptions could be applied for, in special circumstances.
Kenton Food Bank manager Loree Moran-Wilson claims Newcastle City Council confirmed to her that her van was eligible for the exemption granted to community transport vehicles, ChronicleLive reports.
This was ultimately not the case. Although the local authority eventually agreed to waive the 32 late payment fines of £120 incurred – a bill that would have totalled £4,000 – in favour of the toll values alone, Ms Moran-Wilson said the centre cannot afford to upgrade their vehicle.
She said: “At the moment, it is going to create more hard work for us trying to find people who can do collections for us.
“I get up in the morning, put my jumper on and get in the van wanting to collect to give to people in need – and now I am getting fined for it. It just makes you question why this is happening.”
While private cars are exempt from most, businesses reliant on transport face huge cost increases (Image: Express)
She added: “Even if they could give us permission to come into the CAZ once a week that would be fine. We aren’t trying to take the mick here.”
Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Lovatt volunteered to collect donations from the city centre himself, calling out a “failure of political leadership” by the cabinet.
He said: “I am appealing to both Newcastle and Gateshead councils to rethink the CAZ legal order to support those charities which now have to pay to enter the CAZ. These charities have fallen through the cracks and should have been considered for exemptions when the legal order was approved.”
But charitable organisations in Newcastle are not alone in having been impacted by emissions-reduction schemes. Serv Herts and Beds, which delivers vital blood and breast milk to hospitals, was refused an exemption ahead of London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion in August.
Late payment can incur a fine of up to £120 (Image: GETTY)
To date, there are 15 active CAZs across the UK, from Dundee to York to Portsmouth, with many more under consultation.
Currently, the only ones charging private car drivers are Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.
The Adventure Sea Cadets in Bristol – a charity that teaches young people nautical skills – said in May that it had been “crippled” by the city’s £9 CAZ charge six months after its launch, as volunteers and parents dropping off children turned away.
While, speaking to the BBC, director of Thornberry Animal Sanctuary in Sheffield said the £50 fee she faced to transport two ponies to the city centre was “frustrating” and “demotivating” at a time when “every penny counts” in June.
A spokesperson for Newcastle and Gateshead Clean Air Zone told ChronicleLive: “The CAZ is in place to reduce traffic-related air pollution by encouraging those with older, more polluting vehicles to upgrade or replace them with newer models that have lower emissions.
“Support measures, including exemptions for some vehicles, are in place to help businesses and organisations affected.”
They added: “Decisions regarding vehicle exemptions had to be approved by Government and had to be balanced against the need to reduce pollution levels sufficiently to ensure compliance with legal requirements. As a result, not all vehicles, including some belonging to charitable and voluntary organisations, will qualify for an exemption.
“In this particular case, while the vehicle would not qualify for an exemption, we have contacted the owner to make them aware that they could apply for funding of up to £4,500 towards the cost of a newer vehicle that meets emissions requirements. As a gesture of goodwill we have also agreed to waive the additional PCN charges following payment of the original CAZ fees.”
