Reading Council blasted for wasting government cash
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christindattnifagoogtemalt.con: READING BOROUGH Council is being accused of wasting government money after it was forced to admit that its .L59rn plan for a low-emission zone (LEZ) will target just 560 lorries.
The authority was criticised for not consulting the road transport industry before submitting its application to the government's Transport Innovation Fund ('ETA: industry ignored over Reading Council LEZ proposal'. CM 25 February), but the revelation that its scheme would only affect 12% of HGVs passing through Reading city centre has raised questions about its clean-air strategy Also, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) says it has concerns that Reading's LEZ will be different from I sindon's established scheme, resulting in confusion for hauliers working in the M4 corridor.
The ETA has scheduled a hastilyarranged meeting with council leaders for Friday (5 March) to find out more about the plan.
The council says it will charge non-compliant lorries over 3.5 tonnes .L50 each time they travel into the LEZ.
When asked how many vehicles it expects to target, a spokesman says: "Based on fleet composition, it is estimated only 12% (around 560 vehicles) of HGVF, would be affected by the LEZ. of which 30% of the 12% would pay" This is equivalent to just 168 lorries.
The spokesman continues: "We anticipate that the other 70% would [either] upgrade or switch vehicles to avoid the LEZ.
"This economic assessment shows the revenue raised covers the cost of operation, rather than generating [a] significant surplus."
F1'A policy manager Gordon Telling feels the council is being "cavalier with someone else's money". He adds: "If somebody asked Reading Borough Council: 'Would you like to spend 'x' number of millions of pounds on reducing the emissions from a hundred-odd vehicles?', they would ask if they had gone completely mad."