Most buses, lorries and taxis WILL be charged to drive in and around Greater Manchester from 2021, under plans being unveiled today - followed by the dirtiest vans from 2023, as leaders look to slash deadly pollution levels.

Clean air proposals outlined in a paper going before council leaders and the mayor on Friday reveal buses and lorries would pay £100 a day in a bid to cut nitrogen dioxide in the air, while taxis and vans would see a £7.50 daily penalty.

The plans - the early stages of which we revealed last year - would have to be accompanied by a £116m scrappage scheme, according to the region’s draft pitch to government.

Charging cars to drive into the city centre, an idea that had at one stage been firmly on the table, is no longer being suggested.

The move comes after government ordered councils in Greater Manchester and dozens of others across the country to draw up radical plans aimed at slashing diesel-related pollution levels to legal levels as soon as possible.

The council leaders and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have been discussing how to do that for months - and today the results of work by Transport for Greater Manchester are being announced.

It would see a two-phase approach, charging diesel buses, coaches, HGVs, taxis and private hire vehicles to drive into and around the conurbation from 2021, if they have not been upgraded to less polluting models.

Plans to charge vans would come in two years later, however.

Analysis showed the second-hand van market would not have the right vehicles in circulation by the earlier date for a charging zone to work, according to the report.

“A lack of available, affordable and compliant vehicles could result in a higher than predicted proportion of vehicles ‘staying and paying’ rather than upgrading and create substantial risk of economic damage,” it says, outlining that the aim of the scheme is to get rid of dirty vehicles altogether, rather than simply charging them.

As a result, vans would be charged from 2023 instead.

According to the report, Greater Manchester’s latest proposals could cut nitrogen dioxide in the air - which has been linked to hundreds if not thousands of deaths here each year - to legal levels by 2024, a year earlier than the other options it considered, although it would be a ‘challenge’ to deliver.

Plans to charge cars were ditched for a number of reasons, it says, including because no government scrappage scheme appears to so far be on the cards - but also due to fears such a move would hit poorer households hardest.

The proposals, which represent Greater Manchester’s outline business case to government, would need to be accompanied by a package of funding from Whitehall, it adds.

Some £59m would be required to ensure freight vehicles - such as lorries - could be upgraded to legally clean standards, it says, along with £28m to provide a ‘contribution’ towards scrapping and replacing polluting taxis.

(Image: Coventry Telegraph)

A further £28m would be needed to bring polluting buses onto an electric bus network.

The report says the package of extra funding is essential to making the clean air zone work.

“There is a risk that a clean air zone implemented without financial support could damage the public and accessible transport offer in the region,” it says.

“At present, most buses and nearly all hackney cabs and many private hire vehicles in the region are non-compliant, with the oldest vehicles typically owned by small local businesses or sole traders.

“There is a risk that without support, bus operators may choose to reduce bus services rather than upgrade their fleets, that hackney cab drivers switch to driving compliant but less accessible private hire vehicles, and that the private hire trade is potentially impacted by the financial cost of upgrading a non-compliant vehicles.

“Therefore, the Clean Vehicle Funds to be demanded of government, are an essential and common component to achieve compliance. They add to the cost and complexity of delivery, and there is concern over the ability to supply sufficient compliant vehicles to meet demand.”

The proposals are due to be unveiled by Andy Burnham today, before being discussed by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on Friday.

If agreed, a series of consultations would be followed by a formal submission to government by the end of the year.