Birmingham City Council has reassured hauliers it will do all it can to help them comply with the city’s new Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which is due to be rolled out on 1 July 2020.
The pledge comes in the wake of widespread concerns among the city’s freight operators that the measures are being brought in too quickly and will have a damaging impact on businesses running older, non-compliant fleets.
Speaking at the latest Clean Air Roadshow at Birmingham’s Villa Park football stadium, Sylvia Broadley, Birmingham City Council’s Energy & Sustainable Transport Manager, confirmed that HGVs older than Euro-6 standards would be given a daily £50 charge to enter the zone.
However, she stressed that hauliers with HGVs registered within the CAZ will get a year's exemption for two of their HGVs.
In addition, hauliers with non-compliant HGVs registered within the Birmingham area which have an existing finance agreement beyond 2020, will also be allowed to run two of these vehicles into the zone for one year.
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“If you’ve got larger fleets it’s a real concern,” she admitted. “But this is just an interim period to get to full compliance. It’s the start of the journey. The market has to adapt so there’s a transition period.”
Reacting, June Harrison, owner of Sherringtons Waste Management in Birmingham, said the new measures would have a devastating effect on her company.
“We’re going to be out of business when this comes in,” she said. “We’ve got 11 lorries and we can’t afford to buy new ones. We’ve got 28 staff. I’ve spoken to everybody I can about it. I’ve ranted, raved and shouted. We can’t physically cope.”
Councillor Waseem Zaffar, cabinet member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council admitted Sherringtons was “exactly the kind of business that’s keeping me up at night”.
“This is a very challenging policy," he said. "But we will work with every single business and let’s see what we can do. We will try everything possible to help. But air pollution is killing people. It’s a public health crisis.”
Delegates at the event were able to consult with vehicle experts about existing and emerging alternatively-fuelled commercial vehicles, as well as public-access infrastructure to refuel them.
A specialist team from Birmingham City Council was also on hand to talk to affected businesses about fleet upgrades, available grants, time-frame to comply and how the scheme will be enforced.
