Less than a week to go until Clean Air Zone Financial Support Scheme goes live across Greater Manchester

There is a just left for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) owners to get ready for the launch of the HGV Clean Air Zone Financial Support Scheme which launches next Tuesday (30 November).

Support is being provided for vehicle financing before the zone comes into effect on 30 May 2022.

Vehicle owners can answer a series of simple questions at cleanairgm.com/prepare to find out whether they will need to pay a charge to drive in the Clean Air Zone, if they might be eligible for an exemption or funding support, and further vehicle-specific information regarding their options and timescales.

Funding for Greater Manchester-licensed private hire vehicles (PHVs) and hackney carriages, coaches, minibuses and vans (LGVs) will launch at the end of January 2022.

Vehicle owners will receive letters from early 2022 to notify them of exemptions and funding support available. As well as this, at the end of January next year, those eligible for an exemption would be able to make an application.

The ten Greater Manchester local authorities are under direction from government to introduce a category C* charging Clean Air Zone, to meet nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) legal limits on local roads in the shortest possible time, and by 2024 at the latest.

The GM Clean Air Zone will not include private cars, motorbikes and mopeds.

Greater Manchester has worked with government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) to add the city-region to the national vehicle checking service, which also contains information on other Clean Air Zones in Bath, Birmingham and Portsmouth.

Financial Support Scheme applications open on 30 November for owners of Greater Manchester-registered HGVs, to give them the maximum amount of time to apply, since they are included in the Zone from its launch.

Letters to all registered keepers of non-compliant HGVs based in Greater Manchester will also start being delivered in late November. These will use DVLA data to directly contact the registered keepers of non-compliant HGV who would pay a charge from 30 May 2022, notifying them that funding applications open at the end of the month.

The first round of funding will aim to support Greater Manchester’s smallest businesses, sole traders and the voluntary sector owning non-compliant vehicles. Financial support will be available as a lump sum grant, contribution towards vehicle financing, or a combination of the two.

Work is also continuing to prepare for the launch of the zone, with more than 160 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) enforcement cameras installed to date. The first was installed on Vernon Street in Bolton, with 850 to be in place to enforce any non-payment of daily charges when the zone is in operation. Clean Air Zone signage is also being introduced on the highways network across the city-region and in neighbouring local authority areas.

Vehicle owners can use the online checker to see if they are affected and if they might be eligible for an exemption or funding support at cleanairgm.com/prepare