Green light for Newcastle CAZ

Air Quality

The Government has approved a clean air plan for Newcastle featuring a Class C charging clean air zone plus reductions to road capacity on the Tyne Bridge.

Newcastle and Gateshead  councils prepared the plan to bring nitrogen dioxide concentrations down to within EU legal limit values. 

The CAZ, due for implementation next January, will cover Newcastle city centre and the Tyne crossings into Gateshead. Non-compliant buses, coaches and lorries will be charged £50 a day. Non-compliant taxis, private hire vehicles and vans will be charged £12.50.

The plan also includes temporarily reducing road capacity on the Tyne Bridge to allow a major maintenance project to be implemented. 

Meanwhile, changes to the road layout on the Central Motorway will prevent traffic merging on and off the slip lane between the New Bridge Street and the Swan House junctions.

The Government says the package must bring forward compliance to 2021.