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Controversial plans to impose a clean air toll on Tyneside’s roads could be revamped with less severe charges - after thousands of objectors raised fears about its devastating impact.



More than half of the 19,000 people who responded to a public consultation on the drastic plans, designed to cut illegal levels of air pollution, opposed the two options put forward by Newcastle, Gateshead, and North Tyneside councils.

New analysis reveals that 52% of respondents rejected the idea of a Clean Air Zone (CAZ), in which the highest-polluting vehicles would be hit with a £12.50 daily fee to enter a wide area covering central Newcastle and Gateshead, stretching up to Gosforth and down the Coast Road.

But the councils’ alternative option to place a £1.70 toll on the Tyne, Swing, and Redheugh bridges proved even more unpopular. A massive 62% of people opposed charging all cars, vans, and lorries to use the three central river crossings, which could be introduced alongside a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) banning high-polluting buses, taxis, and lorries from Newcastle city centre entirely.

An independent report into the consultation concluded that residents viewed the tolls as “a potentially discriminatory and financially wounding stealth tax, targeting those on the lowest incomes with non-compliant vehicles, making unavoidable journeys to work”.

It also highlighted fears that a toll would cause “trading collapse and unemployment” in the city centre and simply displace motorists to other locations that cannot support high levels of rush hour traffic.

Local authority chiefs are now pledging to make changes to their proposals before choosing a final option later this year.

That could mean changing the boundaries of the charging zone, reducing the fees, and making more vehicles exempt.

However, the councils still insist that some form of charge will have to be imposed on drivers if Tyneside is to comply with a government order to bring toxic emissions - linked to more than 300 deaths in the area every year - back within legal limits by 2021.

Coun Martin Gannon, leader of Gateshead Council, said: “We still have further work to do to determine the measures for dealing with this serious public health issue.

“It’s clear from the consultation that people have strong views about what the priorities and major challenges are.

“The legal direction from government means that we have to take action but we know there are no easy answers to this issue. The extensive consultation feedback, together with the results of the latest testing and modelling, will be invaluable in helping us to identify the final option.”

While more than 60% of the record-breaking 19,211 respondents agreed that air pollution on Tyneside requires action, the two toll proposals came in for heavy criticism.

Commenters said that a CAZ would "undoubtedly tip me and my family over the precipice into financial oblivion” and “feels like targeting the poor".

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

The “simply not good enough” state of the North East’s public transport network also drew people’s ire, with the analysis concluding that it is seen as “prohibitively expensive and also lacking in a number of aspects – including reliability, affordability, coverage, speed and integration”.

The most requested improvement to offset the impact of road tolls was an improved Metro service, as well as new park and ride facilities and improved routes for clean buses.

A majority of people also supported a peak hours ban on HGVs and vans on a section of the Central Motorway, as well as mitigation measures such as exemptions for certain vehicles, subsidies for public transport tickets, and grants to help fund a switch to cleaner vehicles.

The consultation analysis does point out that the majority of negative comments are from the “vocal, driving, dissenting majority” and that those who agreed with the anti-pollution proposals were less likely to make their voice heard. It concludes that the results should be seen as a “snapshot” of opinions rather than complete evidence.

The three councils are now reshaping their proposals in response to the consultation and to include new traffic modelling data, ahead of submitting their analysis to government in August.

Revised and more detailed plans should be revealed in the coming weeks, before a final decision is taken in November. The toll should come into force in January 2021 to meet the government’s deadline.

Coun Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality at Newcastle City Council, said: “Through this consultation people have made clear to us their feelings about potential measure for tackling traffic-related air pollution.

“The majority of people are aware of the issue and agree that it must be addressed – but what comes across very strongly is that there were some very real concerns about the proposals we consulted on and people feel that further support and infrastructure improvements are needed to help people cope with such measures.

“We welcome this feedback and we are listening.”