Council chiefs across the region are considering whether to charge the dirtiest vehicles driving into Greater Manchester's most polluted areas, the Manchester Evening News reveals today, potentially including one in five private cars.

That is because they only have until the end of the year to come up with a plan that can slash sky-high nitrogen dioxide levels – directly linked to diesel emissions – to legal limits by 2021, following a directive from government.

Legally, they have to consider charging as an option, unless they can come up with another solution to cut pollution as effectively and as quickly within the same timeframe.

Other areas facing the same directive have already decided to introduce charges on vehicles that fall into the government's 'Class D' of polluting vehicles – and that is what Greater Manchester may also yet decide to do.

Class D includes anything below a certain emissions standard and covers around 20pc of cars on our roads – mostly diesel vehicles of more than three years old, but also most petrol models registered before 2006 – and most buses, HGVs, LGVs, taxis and coaches.

While council leaders here are not yet thought to have been presented with detailed proposals about how a charging regime could work, below we look at some of the ways it could be done.

(Image: PA)

What Greater Manchester transport officials were discussing in 2017

Eighteen months ago, after the government ordered the country’s most polluted authorities to draw up clean air plans, initial workings by Transport for Greater Manchester were leaked to the M.E.N .

The internal document identified three areas with illegally dirty air: several parts of Manchester city centre, including the inner ring-road, plus much of St Peter’s Way in Bolton and main routes into Bury from the south west – although since then it is understood further work has singled out more such pollution blackspots, with at least one existing in every borough.

At the time the TfGM document suggested that the three areas then identified could be turned into ‘clean air zones’ by ringing them with a total of 66 number plate recognition cameras.

Those would then automatically target all Class D vehicles with charges of £7.50 a day on cars, £100 on HGVs and £20 on LGVs.

The cameras would operate round the clock, it suggested.

What Birmingham is doing

Like Greater Manchester, Birmingham also legally had to draw up a clean air plan to deal with its pollution problem.

In July Birmingham council announced it proposed to charge Class D vehicles from entering the city centre across its middle ringroad. It suggested charges of between £6 and £10 a day for cars, £50 for lorries and HGVs, £6 to £12.50 for taxis or private hire vehicles, and £50 to £100 for buses.

A clean air zone for the city centre was then approved by the town hall’s cabinet last month, although it has yet to finalise its exact details.

The move has not been without its controversy, however, with some criticising it as a mere ‘sticking plaster’ to deal with the city’s air quality problem. Others have suggested it will simply displace pollution.

Meanwhile West Midlands Tory mayor Andy Street – who holds the equivalent position to that of Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester – has urged the council to ensure drivers of commercial vehicles have financial support so they can upgrade their vehicles to newer, less polluting models before the charging comes in.

He also warned the council should think ‘very carefully’ about whether charges should operate 24/7.

Mr Street has declared himself broadly supportive of the direction Birmingham council is going in, however, considering the scale of its pollution problem.

(Image: PA)

What London has done

London has had air quality charging in place for some time.

Its ‘low emissions zones’ already cover most of Greater London and charge between £100 and £200 a day on the most polluting lorries, motor caravans, large vans, buses and coaches.

If those charges are not paid, there is then a range of fines – between £500 and £1,000 depending on the kind of vehicle – which are reduced if paid within two weeks.

However from next April a new round-the-clock ‘ultra low emissions zone’ will also be introduced in central London to cover all Class D vehicles, including some cars – the category under consideration by Greater Manchester and recently signed off by Birmingham.

From that point anyone with a more polluting diesel car – generally those registered before September 2015 – will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive into the centre of the capital, as will drivers of most petrol cars registered before 2006 and some vans not already covered by existing low emissions zones charges.

Anyone failing to pay the charge will then be fined £160, halved if paid within a fortnight.

From October 2021 the new zone’s boundaries will expand from central London out to the north and south circulars.

The introduction of clean air zones has been considerably easier for London than it would be for Greater Manchester, however, thanks to the underlying camera infrastructure brought in 15 years ago to operate its weekday congestion charge.

What Leeds might do

Leeds, like Greater Manchester, has had to draw up a clean air plan due to high levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air.

It is not looking to charge as many vehicles as London or Birmingham, however.

In the summer it consulted on proposals to charge buses and coaches £50 a day to enter the city centre, £50 for HGVs and £12.50 for taxis or private hire vehicles.

That was a change to its original plan, consulted upon earlier in the year – which would have seen charges of up to £100 a day. It has also reduced the size of the planned clean air zone in order to lessen the impact on businesses.

The council has not proposed charging cars.

Its additional proposals include ‘car free days’ and ‘no idling’ signs outside schools.

The council is also hoping to help firms operating HGVs and coaches up to £19,000 in support to retrofit their vehicles to cut emissions and between £1,500 and £3,000 to taxi drivers, assuming it can get money granted from the government’s central clean air pot.