Dundee’s proposed Low Emission Zone (LEZ) could be submitted to Scottish Government ministers for sign-off if it is approved by councillors next week.
Ministers will have the final say on the details of each of the four Scottish LEZs, including Dundee, which is planned for introduction at the end of May.
A two-year grace period is set out, with enforcement beginning for all vehicles in spring of 2024. There will be no additional grace period beyond that for residents living within the LEZ boundary.
Lynne Short depute convener of Dundee City Council’s community safety and public protection committee said: “This final report comes at the end of an extremely in-depth, thorough and detailed process that despite being interrupted by Covid has engaged with as many of the people who will be affected by this as possible.
“What is being presented here gives us the best way to improve air quality at the places in the city where it does not meet current standards, in the short-term and beyond.”
Mark Flynn, convener of the council’s city development committee said: “It is clear that the LEZ will mean drivers of the most polluting types of vehicle will have to change their habits, and perhaps think more carefully about how they access areas within the zone.
“But this change, along with many of the others we are bringing in to make active travel a more accessible and easier way of getting around, will mean tangible improvements to everyone’s quality of life.”
An LEZ will contribute to the broader city objectives and the vision to create a healthy, vibrant and attractive city by protecting public health through improving air quality in Dundee and achieving air quality compliance for NO2, PM10 and PM2.5.
Dundee's LEZ will develop an environment that helps to promote more active and sustainable travel choices, contributes to the city's ongoing transformational change and helps to promote Dundee as an inclusive and desirable place to live, invest, visit and learn.
An area inside the A991 inner-ring road will form the Low Emission Zone within which only vehicles that meet the emission standards set out in the Low Emission Zone (Emission Standards, Exemptions and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 can be driven.
In summary this means that petrol cars and vans registered from 2006, diesel cars and vans registered from September 2015 and buses, coaches and HGVs registered from January 2013 will be eligible to access the LEZ. Owners can check whether their vehicle is compliant at https://www.lowemissionzones.scot/get-ready/vehicle-registration-checker
The LEZ will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and be enforced through a network of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. When enforcement starts in May 2024 there will be an initial penalty charge for all non-compliant vehicles entering the zone of £60, reduced by 50% if it is paid within 14 days. The default penalty charges for LEZs have been set by the Scottish Government and are therefore consistent across the country.
To find out more about Dundee’s LEZ, including traffic modelling, air quality data and the rationale for choosing which areas were included, go to http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/lez
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
