Edinburgh's LEZ 'likely to be delayed until 2022'

The city's LEZ is currently timetabled to be approved and come into effect in "late 2021"

FULL implementation of Edinburgh's pollution-busting Low Emission Zone is likely to be delayed until 2022, a councillor claimed today.

Details of the ban on vehicles which do not meet strict emission standards are still being finalised, but the city council's current timetable shows the scheme being approved by the Scottish Government and in "LEZ scheme in effect" in "late 2021".

Edinburgh's Lib Dem transport spokesman Kevin Lang claimed the ban was taking too long. He said: "This was first talked about in 2016, but the latest timetable suggests it won’t happen until the end of next year at best and probably by the time the Scottish Government approves it it will be into 2022.

"Even though everyone accepts we’ve got this problem with air quality in parts of the city we could be waiting another two years before we see the LEZ. That will be six years from when it was first talked about.

"My concern is the timetable is slipping back almost every month. Just last month it was being suggested the LEZ could come into force this year.

"I met recently with the British Heart Foundation who have data showing people are literally dying in this city because of poor air quality. We need to look at what can be done to speed up this process.”

The Capital's transport and environment committee is today due to agree the LEZ should be introduced early for buses, with a ban on those not meeting the required standards applied from later this year. The council says buses are a key source of nitrogen dioxide and are the main problem at many of the city's pollution hotspots.

When fully implemented, the LEZ scheme will see a two-tier approach, with cars, buses and lorries which fail to meet pollution standards being banned from the city centre, while a separate zone for the wider city will exempt cars.

Transport and environment convener Lesley Macinnes has said the LEZ is crucial to the city's plans to tackle poor air quality and its negative impact on health and wellbeing. And she said the early introduction of the ban on buses which fail to meet standards is only the first step. "The council still fully intends to introduce a comprehensive LEZ addressing emissions from other vehicle types."