Clean Air Zone saga 'finally put to bed' as more than 1,300 signs to come down across Greater Manchester
The Clean Air Zone (CAZ) scheme in Greater Manchester is being discontinued, with over 1,300 signs set to be removed after a public backlash and government approval of a revised plan. The scheme, which would have charged non-compliant vehicles up to £60 a day, was paused in 2022 and officially scrapped in January 2025. Over £100m has been spent on the scheme, funded by the government. A new 'investment-led' approach will see £86m allocated for initiatives like upgrading vehicles and reducing traffic, with a focus on zero-emission buses. Clean air campaigners criticize the decision, while the Federation of Small Businesses welcomes it.
Greater Manchester begins removing 1,300 Clean Air Zone signs, marking the definitive end of a scheme that has cost taxpayers more than £100 million since 2017.
Work to dismantle the signage started this week, Transport for Greater Manchester confirmed, three years after the charging scheme was paused amid public outcry and 18 months after ministers formally scrapped it. Panels that read “under review” will disappear as councils receive fresh government funds to take them down.
The zone would have imposed daily fees of up to £60 on taxis, vans, lorries and buses that failed to meet emissions standards. Instead, the region will spend £86 million on grants to upgrade vehicles and traffic-reduction measures, including 300 electric buses already operating on the Bee Network. Officials aim for a fully zero-emission fleet by 2030.
Robert Downes, development manager at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “While we’ve known the CAZ was all but dead and buried quite some time ago, it’s symbolic and definitive to learn that plans are now in motion to bring down the signage. Despite all the effort we put in to opposing the CAZ it was, ironically, the signs going up in the first place that triggered the massive reaction from both the business community and the wider public when they woke up to the huge financial implications of what was being proposed.”
Bury council leader and Greater Manchester clean-air lead Eamonn O’Brien said investment in the Bee Network is cutting pollution faster than charging drivers would have done. Latest data show nitrogen-dioxide levels falling across the conurbation, although 38 locations still breach legal limits. A public consultation on transferring enforcement cameras to police will launch in September.
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