Glasgow businesses are leading a backlash against the city’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) as the council’s own data suggests it is no longer necessary to improve air pollution levels.
The scheme, which bans entry to the city centre for non-compliant older petrol and diesel cars – began being enforced in June to reduce carbon emissions.
But an independent air quality review has found that Glasgow’s current emission levels are already compliant with all objectives set out by Air Quality Scotland.
William Paton, who runs an accident repair garage within the zone, says the scheme is hitting local businesses and is leading a legal case against the LEZ as unlawful.
Glasgow LEZ faces fresh legal challenge: Local businesses say an independent air quality review has found that Glasgow’s current emission levels are compliant with all objectives set out by Air Quality Scotland, making the zone’s enforcement redundant
Glasgow became the first city to enforce the zone with three other Scottish LEZ schemes set to follow next year.
Dundee’s zone will be enforced from 30 May 2024, and similar schemes in the centre of Aberdeen and Edinburgh from 1 June 2024.
The scheme is far stricter than London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ), both of which have daily charges for drivers who enter in non-compliant vehicles.
Instead, the Scottish LEZ scheme is a blanket ban on older cars that’s operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – and with harsh punishments for those who fail to adhere to the restrictions.
A driver entering the LEZ in a non-compliant older car will be hit with a £60 penalty charge notice – and if they break the rules again within a 90-day window, the PCN amount doubles each time.
Glasgow City Council says the LEZ is ‘an essential measure if Glasgow is to tackle the harmful air pollution that has dogged parts of the city centre for decades’.
This map shows the size of the Glasgow LEZ, which cover the city centre from the M8 motorway to the north and west and River Clyde to the south
But local businesses and organisations across the city are backing Mr Paton’s fight against the Glasgow LEZ, saying its enforcement is now redundant, dubbing it a ‘dead duck’.
This comes after a recent independent report states that with the introduction of the city’s lower emission buses the air pollution targets are already being met.
The report said that busses had been the biggest contributor to emissions in the city, but since 2022 Glasgow’s entire fleet of buses has been updated and are now compliant following the first phase of the LEZ.
Mr Paton has now been given the green light from judge Lady Poole to start a legal challenge against the scheme.
A procedural hearing for the case has been scheduled for 8 September and a judicial review is set to take place on 17 October.
Paton, who runs 60-year-old local business Patons Accident Repair Centre in Glasgow’s Townhead, also raised a legal challenge against enforcement of the LEZ just hours before it was due to go live on 1 June.
He took the local authority to court claiming the move will put him and other local companies out of business.
However, a judge refused the motion then, saying the ‘balance of convenience’ lay heavily in favour of the local authority.
A driver entering the LEZ in a non-compliant older car will be hit with a £60 penalty charge notice – and if they break the rules again within a 90-day window, the PCN amount doubles each time. Local businesses say this is already hitting footfall in the city centre just two months after enforcement began
Paton has outlined his new position stating: ‘The data that the council are relying on to proceed to phase two [enforcement of non-compliant cars] is over half a decade out of date.
‘The buses are now totally compliant and we know that without any further action, emissions will continue to fall due to the natural cycle of cleaner vehicles replacing older vehicles.’
He added: ‘The council’s impact assessments show that phase two will massively and disproportionately affect those who can least afford to make the changes required to comply – including those on lower incomes, those with special care needs, those with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
‘It also shows it will greatly increase inequality and drive the poverty related attainment gap.
‘Given that phase one of the LEZ has already achieved the council’s stated air quality objectives, I simply don’t understand how they can justify this next phase.
‘We have achieved the clean air that everyone needs to live a healthy life, so why is council actively punishing the people of Glasgow for something we no longer need?
‘There is zero benefit, it is a lose-lose, and council knows that.’
Donald MacLeod, who runs Hold Fast entertainment the owners of the Garage and Cathouse nightclubs in Glasgow, is also part of the opposition to the scheme.
He says the scheme has hit local business hard, stating: ‘Footfall has fallen off a cliff, the streets are emptying and businesses are failing. The city is on life support.
‘The council is refusing to enter into discussions with major businesses and employers like Paton’s Auto repair shop or indeed the city’s flagging hospitality.’
Paton added that council’s own assessment shows it ‘will massively and disproportionately affect those who can least afford to make the changes required to comply – including those on lower incomes, those with special care needs, those with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.’
Paton is starting a GoFundMe page to prop up the costs of the legal challenge. Excess money raised will go to a charity supporting businesses affected by the LEZ.
Which vehicles are allowed into Glasgow city centre from 1 June 2023?
As a general rule, diesel cars registered before September 2015 and petrol vehicles registered before 2006 are not allowed in the LEZ.
Only vehicles that meet the following Euro emission standards are compliant to enter the zone:
- Euro 4 and later petrol cars
- Euro 6 diesel cars
- Euro IV and later petrol buses, coaches and HGVs
- Euro VI buses, coaches and HGVs
- All motorcycles and mopeds
How much can you be fined for driving into Glasgow’s LEZ in a non-compliant car?
Instead of being able to pay a non-compliance charge like London’s £12.50-a-day ULEZ and £8 for Birmingham’s CAZ, the Glasgow LEZ will see owners of ineligible motors issued with a Penalty Charge Notice each time they enter.
The initial PCN for non-compliant vehicles is £60, which will be halved if paid within a fortnight.
With the Glasgow LEZ operational continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round, it will force thousands of drivers to ditch their older cars – if they haven’t done so already
Only one PCN will be issued per day, no matter how many times the vehicle enters or leaves the zone.
However, a stepped surcharge system means the penalty will double with each subsequent breaking of the rules thereafter within a 90-day window.
This is only the case when a motorist in a non-compliant vehicle enters the same LEZ.
That means a recurring day entering the Glasgow LEZ in an older car will result in a second PCN of £120, and a third day will see it increase to £240.
The penalties escalate regardless of whether the first fine is paid, though the maximum penalty charge is capped at £480 for cars and vans.
For buses and HGVs, the maximum penalty amount is £960.
After 90 days of a driver last breaching the rules, the surcharge rate is reset to £60.
It means a driver in a non-compliant vehicle who drives into the zone every day would – in theory – incur annual PCN’s up to a value of £174,180, according to a calculation by car selling website, Carwow.
That’s around the same price as a two-bed semi-detached home in St Helens.
When is the Glasgow LEZ operational?
Like ULEZ, the Glasgow LEZ is operational 24 hours a day.
However, unlike the London zone, there is no exception to its enforcement on Christmas Day, with Glasgow’s zone running 365 days a year.
How many drivers will be affected?
Glasgow City Council estimates that just 10 per cent of vehicles driven into the zone at the beginning of May failed to meet the LEZ standards required.
Across Scotland, it is reported that just over a fifth of vehicles fail to meet the emissions standards, with the lowest compliance among diesel models.
How do drivers pay a PCN issued for an LEZ breach?
Penalties can be paid via Glasgow City Council’s website.
Failure to make payment will result in enforcement action.
Are any people exempt from the Glasgow LEZ?
Exemptions are in place for residents living within the zone’s limits with a non-compliant car. However, they will need to apply for an exemption and it is only valid until 1 June 2024.
Operators of public-hire taxis can also apply for an exemption that ends on the same date.
Blue Badge holders will not incur any penalties, though they also need to apply for this exemption.
The Scottish LEZ site also says ‘historic vehicles’ older than 30 years will not be issued PCNs.
Other exemptions include vehicles used by the police, ambulance and emergency services, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Her Majesty’s Coastguard and the National Crime Agency.
Military and ‘showmen’ vehicles – a ‘highly specialised vehicle used for the purposes of travelling showmen, where the vehicle is used during the performance, used for the purpose of providing the performance or used for carrying performance equipment’ – are exempt too.
Experts warn it will damage Scotland’s used car market
Huge Griffiths, consumer editor at Carwow, says that while there’s public acknowledgement that pollution levels – especially in big cities – need to be curtailed, the decision to introduce a scheme as harsh as Glasgow’s LEZ is questionable in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
‘It’s worth having the debate about whether this is fairer than the ‘pay to pollute’ daily fee option provided by schemes such as London’s ULEZ,’ Griffiths said.
‘It’s certainly interesting to note that the penalty-escalation scheme Glasgow is implementing could see drivers fined up to £174,180 a year if they drive into the zone every day.
‘You really wouldn’t want to move house and forget to change the address where your car is registered; the build up of penalties over time could be painfully expensive.’
He also warned that the extension of the LEZ scheme to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee next year will have a huge impact on second hand car values in Scotland as drivers desperately offload non-compliant older models.
‘Given the broad geographical area these cities span, and that (roughly) pre-2015 diesels and pre-2006 petrol cars will be banned from entering their centres, non-compliant cars could soon experience a marked drop in value north of the border,’ he added.
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