Mixed New Forest response to dropping £100 city congestion charge pollution plan

NEW FOREST traders could be spared having to pay a £100 daily congestion charge to enter Southampton after the pollution-cutting measure was dumped by the city council amid protests by environmental campaigners.

The abandoned proposals would have levied a fee on commercial vehicles, including taxis and buses, entering a clean air zone to drive down harmful emissions by 2020, as demanded by the government to avoid a huge EU fine for breaching standards.

But when the city council unveiled the business case it intends to submit to Whitehall for approval, the proposed charging scheme was ditched.

The move was welcomed as “good news” by Matthew Lawson, chair of the New Forest Business Partnership, which lobbied against the charge.

He said: “A number of local businesses expressed concern over the proposed charging and the impact this may have, either directly through charging or indirectly through costs passed down through supply chains.

“Whilst we all recognise the need to reduce pollution and congestion, these proposals would have disadvantaged small businesses more than large businesses, because small businesses are less likely to be able to afford the latest generation of commercial vehicles.”

He added: “From a New Forest perspective, there was also the concern that more Isle of Wight traffic would divert to the Lymington-Yarmouth crossing, bringing more traffic through the New Forest.”

As reported in the A&T, fumes on a small stretch of the A35 at Totton meant it was included in the requirement to reduce emissions.

A New Forest District Council report said 100 deaths a year were caused by long-term exposure to particulate air pollution across its area.

However, it said levels are set to reach acceptable levels this year without further intervention, so the Conservative-run NFDC plans a “business as usual” approach – which Liberal Democrat Cllr David Harrison attacked as “entirely wrong” for residents’ health.

Southampton City Council’s decision to drop its congestion charge was opposed by Brenda Pollack, south east campaigner at Friends of the Earth, as “terrible news for the health of everyone in the area”.

She said: “A charging clean air zone represented an opportunity for all those living and working in Southampton and the New Forest to finally breathe cleaner air.

“Instead we are now looking at a plan with weak proposals that will not effectively limit the use of the most polluting diesel vehicles.

“There is now a real risk of the area continuing to be blighted by dangerous air pollution. Toxic air is especially risky to young children, whose developing lungs could be directly affected by the levels we are seeing in the city and beyond.”

However, the city council said work with partners worth millions of pounds has already reduced nitrogen dioxide pollution over the last three years by 24% in some of the most polluted areas.

The draft clean air zone scheme aims to achieve compliance with nitrogen dioxide levels by 2020.

Proposed new measures include shoreside power for cruise ships so they can switch off polluting engines; an HGV “freight consolidation” scheme to reduce trips; and an accreditation system for the least polluting operators.

Buses will be subject to new conditions to ensure the “highest emission standard”, and new taxi licensing to remove the most polluting vehicles and encourage electric power.

Southampton Friends of the Earth has promised to protest when the plans are discussed by the city council’s overview and scrutiny management committee on 16th January.

Cllr Steve Leggett, Southampton’s Labour cabinet member for green city, said: “Over the last few years we’ve led on a range of projects which have made a noticeable difference and made our air cleaner from pollution. However, we know that there is still a long way to go to tackle this silent killer.”