February 25th 2020
Government delays decision on Portsmouth Clean Air Zone
The government has delayed making a decision on whether Portsmouth will require a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) until May.
In October, the council submitted its case for a Class B CAZ, which will charge older, polluting buses, coaches, taxis, and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) entering the city each day, but would not charge private cars, as the council has said introducing a tougher CAZ could have a negative effect on residents and businesses.
At the time, Cllr Dave Ashmore, cabinet member for Environment & Climate Change, blasted the government saying they are ‘imposing’ the CAZ on the city and have ignored suggestions by the local authority to improve air quality.
The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) has requested additional modelling data before coming to a decision.
Portsmouth’s CAZ was initially going to cover all the Portsea Island area. However, they have now decided to make the zone’s boundary smaller and exclude Portsmouth International Port, which is owned by the council.
In related news, it was revealed that Coventry’s planned Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will now not go ahead after the government accepted other measures proposed by Coventry City Council to tackle air pollution.
Photo Credit – Pixabay
Why would you attack drivers in this way? It is obvious to me that the main problem across Portsmouth is parked cars. People have too many where there is no private drives. In my opinion the roads should be kept clear so the traffic can move freely. The council appear to use parked cars as means of traffic calming. The stop start to let on coming traffic past is far more polluting than driving an older car so it can keep moving.