Scottish Government delay to Edinburgh's Low Emission Zone shouldn't be allowed to be an 'excuse for more warm words' warn 'disappointed' councillors

Moves to introduce Edinburgh’s first low emission zone (LEZ) where vehicles producing high levels of pollution could be banned from parts of the city have been delayed by the Scottish Government.

Transport secretary Michael Matheson announced on Thursday that all plans for LEZs were to be “temporarily paused” due to the impact of COVID-19 on local authorities.

He said it was "no longer practicable” to introduce the zones by the end of the year due to “necessary changes to priorities”.

The move has been criticised by campaigners, lung charities and councillors, with some calling for a rethink.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s air pollution campaigner Gavin Thomson said: Of course Edinburgh Council has had to quickly change priorities and many projects have been rightly delayed until we are through this crisis. However, the Low Emission Zone plans were already well underway, and Covid-19 has only highlighted our urgent need to reduce pollution.

“The short term drops in pollution we’ve seen in Edinburgh during shutdown will not be sustained unless Councils and Government take meaningful action to change our transport system, restricting the most polluting vehicles while prioritising walking and cycling.”

Joseph Carter, head of Asthma UK & British Lung Foundation Scotland, called for the government to reconsider the move.

He said: “We are shocked and disappointed to see Scotland’s Low Emission Zones (LEZs) paused at this time. Recent research has demonstrated a link between the levels of urban air pollution and the effects of COVID-19, so it is vital now more than ever that we push ahead with LEZs to help protect our nation’s lung health.

"We are calling for the Scottish Government to reconsider this action and follow the lead of cities like Paris who are strengthening their LEZs at this time.”

The Liberal Democrats transport spokesman, councillor Kevin Lang said “real action” was needed rather than delay.

He said: “After years of discussing a new low emission zone in Edinburgh, progress was already painfully slow.

“Meanwhile, the evidence is mounting that poor air quality in parts of the city is having a damaging and lasting impact on people’s health, especially children. It’s wrong to think coronavirus has changed this fundamental issue.

“There’s a real risk this further delay creates an excuse for more warm words when Edinburgh needs real action to improve air quality in the long term.”

Green councillor and transport spokesman Claire Miller said she was disappointed by the delay and said it must be as brief as possible.

She said: “I’m disappointed that the progress of Low Emission Zone regulations is being delayed by Holyrood, but I can understand that the COVID-19 crisis means the government programme inevitably has to be slowed down.

“Just a few days ago I had been celebrating the dramatic gains in air quality levels that have been recorded by our monitoring stations around the city. There is some emerging evidence of a link between cleaner air and lower rates of Covid, so it is really important that we maintain these lower levels of air pollution for public health as well as environmental reasons.

“That is why I’ll be asking that any delay is as brief as possible. The post-pandemic Edinburgh needs to be one where congestion is ended, where people can breathe clean air and where a Green New Deal is at the heart of what the city does.”

Transport spokesman for the Edinburgh Tories, Cllr Susan Webber, said she welcomed the announcement and called on the SNP to pause other “vanity projects”.

She said: “The announcement pausing the planned LEZs across Scotland should be welcomed. The world, our country and our capital city all need time to reassess priorities, and not be fearful of changing and adapting approaches to address the very different wealth and wellbeing issues that we now face.

“Perhaps this is the time that Edinburgh’s SNP Administration, took a leaf out of the SNP Scottish Government’s play book and paused many of their vanity projects and consultations.

“Right now, the public would rather they focused on how they can support the city’s recovery and regeneration in the short to medium term within the expectations of our new socially distanced lives.”

Transport and Environment Convener Lesley Macinnes said the council was still “100 per cent committed” to implementing an LEZ and said the city must make “radical changes” to meet the Capital’s 2030 net zero carbon goal.

She said: “We are in the midst of extremely challenging circumstances, so we understand the Scottish Government’s decision to pause plans to introduce Low Emission Zones (LEZ).

“Over the last few weeks, as motor traffic has dropped significantly on our roads, everyone has enjoyed cleaner, fresher air and the endorphin-boosting effects of walking, wheeling and cycling in our beautiful city. We want to harness and sustain these benefits as we work towards the city’s recovery from the pandemic.

“It’s crucial that, in addition to plans for a LEZ, we prioritise active and public transport if we are to emerge from this crisis as a healthier, safer and more environmentally-friendly city, and we’ll very soon be bringing forward far-reaching changes to achieve this.”

In a statement, Mr Matheson said: “The Scottish Government is fully committed to tackling air pollution in the quickest time possible. The unprecedented impact of the COVID–19 outbreak has resulted in necessary changes to priorities across government and across our local authority partners.

“Similar to other initiatives across public sector, we have come to the view that introducing low emission zones across our four biggest cities by the end of 2020 is no longer practicable.

“We remain dedicated to introducing Low Emission Zones across Scotland’s four biggest cities to improve air quality and protect public health. Local authorities share this ambition and Scotland’s first LEZ in Glasgow has been in place since 2018.

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