‘No plans whatsoever to enforce a paid-for clean air zone in Greater Manchester’, says transport secretary
The transport secretary has stated there are no plans to enforce a paid-for clean air zone in Greater Manchester, leaving the decision to local leaders. The government is reviewing Andy Burnham’s investment-led approach, which avoids charging drivers. A final decision is pending, but the transport minister has dismissed the idea of enforcing such zones where local leaders oppose them.
Greater Manchester will not face a government-imposed paid clean air zone, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander declared Monday, though a formal decision from environment officials remains pending.
Speaking at a Wythenshawe press conference marking the completion of Bee Network bus implementation, Alexander stated categorically: “We’ve got no plans whatsoever to enforce a paid-for clean air zone in Greater Manchester. I could not be clearer: this is for local leaders to take local decisions about what’s best for their local areas.”
The government is currently reviewing Mayor Andy Burnham’s alternative “investment-led approach” that would avoid charging drivers on any regional roads - a significant reversal from the original clean air zone scheduled for April 2022. That plan was suspended following public opposition months before implementation, with Burnham unveiling his new strategy in December 2023.
After 14 months of government review, Alexander emphasized local autonomy: “The government does not have any plans to enforce clean air zones on cities across the country where local leaders don’t want to have them. There’s lots of ways to clean up the country’s air, and the challenges will be different in different towns, different cities and so there will be different approaches.”
Burnham welcomed the development while noting the final decision rests with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rather than transport officials. “We were worried if we introduced a charging zone where people could not avoid the charge because they couldn’t afford to change their vehicle, it would make the cost-of-living crisis worse for a lot of our residents - which is why we pressed the pause button,” he explained.
Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig, whose jurisdiction faces both poor air quality and some of the nation’s worst health outcomes, acknowledged the government’s shifted position while emphasizing broader challenges. “Statistically, our residents are less likely to own cars than the rest of the region,” she noted. “This is something [where] Manchester is impacted by things that happen outside our borders, which is why we have to work collectively. The clean air zone discussion is only a very, very small part of what we are doing to clean up the air.”
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