Owning an accident repair business just yards inside the boundary of Glasgow’s new Low Emission Zone, it would be tempting to call the implementation of LEZ a car crash of a policy - but that would trivialise the very real effects it is having on city centre businesses.
No individual or business I have spoken to disagrees with the general desire to improve air quality in Scotland’s largest city. Yet, any policy should include rigorous assessments of current pollution levels and the impact on those who live and work within the LEZ boundary.
To say that Glasgow City Council has been slapdash in its approach would be an understatement. That is why we instigated a Judicial Review of the LEZ and launched an LEZ Fightback campaign which is receiving more support by the day, particularly from leisure and hospitality businesses.
Our premises lie just 100 yards inside the LEZ boundary, just a stone’s throw from the M8 motorway. We repair a lot of commercial vehicles - but the massive fining structure could lead to fines of up to £960 for some of those vehicles to be repaired by us. Such vehicles are apparently okay to trundle along the M8, but worthy of huge fines on a street just yards away.
It is not just commercial vehicles that have to deal with a punitive fining structure. There has been much attention about London’s ULEZ scheme but drivers there pay a £12.50 fee if their car doesn’t comply. In Glasgow, the "fine" starts at £60 and doubles with every additional incursion.
The council claims it is about air quality, but Freedom of Information requests show that it is relying on data that is approaching five years old. Huge air quality improvements have been made, particularly as new electric buses have taken to the roads. We commissioned a report which found that air quality is continually improving and that targets have already been achieved before this new phase of LEZ. It also showed there would be a continued downward trend without the implementation of Phase 2 of the LEZ - but the council stonewalled any engagement on this.
Our Judicial Review could have been time-barred but we have been given the go-ahead to proceed to a full hearing and a glut of hospitality and leisure businesses are now backing us. Council’s claims about increased evening footfall have been described as "fanciful" and "pie in the sky" - with a dearth of taxis and poor public transport, people are worried about getting home at night and are departing early, or simply not coming into the city centre at all. Young people, who may be driving older cars handed down to them by relatives, can no longer volunteer as designated driver if their car can’t enter the zone in the first place.
LEZ may seem like a good idea but the lack of detailed consideration by the council on its negative effects is startling. This could have been avoided by genuine dialogue - unfortunately, it is now in the hands of lawyers and judges to assess whether LEZ gets the green light or will crash into a brick wall.
William Paton is owner of Patons Accident Repair Centre and an LEZ Fightback campaigner
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