Report of the Deputy Chief Executive & City Treasurer and City Solicitor

This report sets out the proposed Greater Manchester Final Clean Air Plan and policy following a review of all the information gathered through the GM CAP consultation and wider data, evidence and modelling work which is to be agreed by the ten Greater Manchester local authorities.

The Committee considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer and City Solicitor that set out the proposed Greater Manchester Final Clean Air Plan and policy following a review of all the information gathered through the GM CAP consultation and wider data, evidence and modelling work which was to be agreed by the ten Greater Manchester local authorities.

The Committee were invited to comment on the report prior to its consideration by the Executive at their meeting of 28 July 2021.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

•          Noting that the Clean Air Plan would primarily address the issue of Nitrogen Dioxide would this plan contribute to the lowering of Carbon Dioxide emissions;

•          Expressing disappointment that the Strategic Road Network did not include the M60 motorway;

•          A member called for a suspension of road building, similar to that which had recently been announced in Wales;

•          Good practice and scrappage schemes, with reference to a scheme delivered in Coventry should be used to incentivise drivers to change to more environmentally friendly vehicles;

•          The Council needed to be clear in its ambition to see a reduced dependency on cars to undertake journeys, in particular unnecessary short journeys, commenting that the Council remained committed to this;

•          Questioning the space allocated to staff car parking at schools that had been recently built across the city, commenting that this was contrary to the ambitions of the city as it did not set a good example to both pupils attending the school and their parents, and it further contributed to the issue of water run off;

•          The Council should use all levers of influence to encourage all employers across the city to develop sustainable staff travel plans;

•          Consideration needed to be given to addressing the emissions caused by diesel freight trains; and

•          An update was sought as to the introduction of electric buses across the city, noting that this has been piloted in the city.

In response to the questions from the Members, the Head of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure advised that the Clean Air Plan was part of a wider suite of strategies and planned projects designed to contribute to reducing the city’s carbon emissions, making reference to the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy, the City Centre Transport Strategy, reference to the significant investment to deliver public transport and active travel projects and the work across Greater Manchester to deliver electric vehicle charging points.

With regard to the comments raised regarding the schools, the Head of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure commented that he would look into the specific cases raised following the meeting. He added that the delivery of Mobility Hubs across Greater Manchester would encourage and support public and active travel, noting that work was underway to strategically place these sites. He commented that this would support the ambition to reduce the number of journeys undertaken by car.

In response to the discussion on diesel freight trains, the Head of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure stated that the Government had recently released its transport decarbonisation plan; however, he would need to research the specifics in relation to diesel trains and feed back to the Member.

The Head of Logistics and Environment, Transport for Greater Manchester referred to the issue of electric buses by stating that the pilot scheme referred to had been funded by central government and that subsequently a bid had been submitted to fund the delivery of electric vehicles for the whole of the bus fleet, adding that funding was available and already being delivered through the Clean Air Plan to retrofit the existing fleet if required.

Decisions

The Committee endorse the recommendations that the Executive;

1.            Note the progress of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan;

2.            Note the progress in the distribution of Bus Retrofit funding;

3.            Note Ministers’ agreement to include the sections of the A628/A57 in Tameside which form part of the Strategic Road Network within the Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) and their request for Tameside MBC, TfGM and Highways England to establish the most appropriate solution for the charging mechanism to be applied on this section of the Strategic Road Network (SRN);

4.            Approve the GM Clean Air Plan Policy, at Appendix 1 noting that the policy outlines the boundary, discounts, exemptions, daily charges of the Clean Air Zone as well as the financial support packages offered towards upgrading to a compliant vehicle, including the eligibility criteria to be applied.

5.            Note the Equalities Impact Assessment, as set out at Appendix 2;

6.            Note the AECOM Consultation Report, as set out at Appendix 3;

7.            Agree the proposed Response to the Consultation at Appendix 4 which has been prepared by TfGM on behalf of the ten GM local authorities;

8.            Note the Impacts of COVID-19 Report, as set out at Appendix 5;

9.            Agree the Modelling report of the final CAP package, as set out at Appendix 6, and in particular that the modelling outputs of the final plan scheme show the achievement of compliance with the legal limits for Nitrogen Dioxide in the shortest possible time and by 2024 at the latest as required by the Ministerial Direction;

10.         Note the economic implications of the CAP Report, as set out at Appendix 7;

11.         Note the update on the GM Minimum Licensing Standards, set out in section 3.1, and in particular that licensing conditions will not be used to support delivery of the GM Clean Air Plan;

12.         Approve a 6-week public consultation on the inclusion of motorhomes classified as MSP1 in the GM Clean Air Zone and on the inclusion of the A575 and A580 at Worsley commencing on 1 September 2021 and delegate authority to the Executive Member for Environment to approve the consultation materials;

13.         Note that the GM Clean Air Charging Authorities Committee has the authority to make the Charging Scheme Order which establishes the GM Charging Scheme in line with the agreed GM Clean Air Plan Policy;

14.         Note that the GM Charging Authorities Committee has the authority to vary the Charging Scheme Order if this is established as the most appropriate charging mechanism to be applied on sections of the A628/A57 part of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in Tameside;

15.         Note that the Air Quality Administration Committee has the authority to agree the final form of the Operational Agreement for the Central Clean Air Service, and to authorise the making of the Agreement, on behalf of the ten GM local authorities;

16.         Note that the Air Quality Administration Committee has the authority to:

17.         Approve the reallocation of funding from the Try Before You Buy scheme to provide additional electric vehicle charging points dedicated for use by taxis;

18.         Delegate to the GM Charging Authorities Committee the authority to determine the outcome of the consultation on both the inclusion of motorhomes classified as MSP1 within the scope of Clean Air Zone charges and on the inclusion in the GM Clean Air Zone of the A575 and A580 at Worsley following the conclusion of that consultation;

19.         Approve the Clean Air Zone ANPR and signage locations, as set out at Appendix 10; and

20.         Agree a delegation to Deputy Chief Executive to approve the submission of the Interim Full Business Case if required and Executive Member for Environment the Full Business Case (FBC) to the Government's Joint Air Quality Unit to support the GM Clean Air Plan and any supplementary information to that Unit.