UK council blasted for paying £2,000 a day to meet its own Low Emission Zone rules while fining drivers £300k
Edinburgh Council forks out £2,000 a day to comply with its own Low Emission Zone
PA/GETTY
A local authority has been forced to spend nearly £2,000 a day to comply with its own harsh Low Emission Zone rules.
The City of Edinburgh Council spends almost £2,000 a day on its replacement rental vehicles in order to keep up with LEZ rules, according to reports.
A Freedom of Information request found that since coming into effect on June 1, 35 of the council’s vehicles have failed to meet the emissions requirements, prompting it to rent 41 replacement vehicles at a steep cost.
Since being rolled out in June, more than 6,000 drivers have been hit with a LEZ fine in the first month of its enforcement across Edinburgh.
Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailingmotoring@gbnews.uk
LEZ fines in the Scottish capital came into force on June 1
PAThe LEZ was introduced in Edinburgh on May 31, 2022, along with other emissions-based charging schemes in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee, restricting the most polluting vehicles from entering certain areas.
In Edinburgh, a two-year grace period was put in place, meaning no penalty charges were issued during this time, although enforcement began at the start of last month.
Under LEZ rules, if a vehicle does not meet the specified emission standards and drivers travel through the zone they could face a £60 fine, which can be slashed by 50 per cent if paid within 14 days.
If every driver was hit with the £60 charge, the council could have raised roughly £345,000 in the first month alone.
Councillor Scott Arthur told Fleet News that the situation is “not ideal” but 96.5 per cent of its fleet compliant with the LEZ rules.
He said: “Any vehicle that is not compliant, is not operating within the LEZ. I’d also highlight that most of the vehicles that we needed to rent are specialist and more difficult to procure, hence the delay in securing permanent replacements.
“While our objective is to ultimately see zero non-compliant vehicles enter our LEZ, I’m conscious that this is a process which will take time to fully materialise.”
To be LEZ compliant, petrol cars and vans must adhere to Euro 4 emissions, while Euro 6 is the standard for diesel cars and vans and Euro VI for buses, coaches and HGVs.
Arthur added that any revenue generated from the Low Emission Zone would be reinvested into running the scheme.
He stated: “These ambitious goals include achieving net zero, accommodating sustainable growth, cutting congestion, and improving air quality, amongst other commitments to create a safer and more people-friendly city.”
Edinburgh is not the only Scottish city to benefit from LEZ fines in the first month of the scheme as Dundee City Council collected £187,650 worth of fines from non-compliant vehicles since May 30, when the zone came into force.
The council handed out 3,846 fines in the first eight weeks of the scheme to drivers who broke the rules.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The Edinburgh LEZ boundary map EDINBURGH CITY COUNCILMeanwhile, Aberdeen City Council issued £117,360 worth of fines to drivers with non-compliant vehicles in the first 11 days of the scheme.
You may like
