THERE is nothing more important to wellbeing than fresh air. However, parts of Tameside have had to tolerate unacceptable levels of pollution for too long.
I am therefore extremely happy to be able to report back on something I have been working on for some time. It is very good news for the Longdendale valley.
Next year the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone will begin. These zones are a requirement from national Government and do not affect domestic cars, but they do affect heavy goods vehicles and other vehicles that do not hit the clean air standard.
However, the Government have excluded national roads run by Highways England (HE) from this.
In most places this means the motorway network, but in our area Market Street and Mottram Moor in Hollingworth and Hyde Road in Mottram are also all trunk roads run by HE.
This meant we faced a terrible position where additional HGVs might have chosen to come through Mottram and Hollingworth to avoid the Clean Air Zone charges. Instead of reducing our traffic problem, it would have got worse.
I’m thrilled that now, after some brilliant work by Tameside Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and a summit meeting with myself, my neighbouring MP for High Peak and the Transport Minister Rachel Maclean, MP, we have received excellent news: the trunk roads in Mottram and Hollingworth will be included in the Clean Air Zone. I am told this is to be the only deviation of its kind in the country.
Instead of a very bad outcome, we now have a very good one. This will be the one of the biggest improvements in local air quality in Hollingworth and Mottram we have ever seen.
Combined with the by-pass being built around Mottram, we are looking at a huge improvement in quality of life for people in these villages.
As someone who has lived on both Mottram Moor in Hollingworth and Broadbottom Road, Mottram, I understand first-hand the difference this will make.
I would like thank Councillor Brenda Warrington, Tameside Council leader and Councillor Andrew Western, leader of Trafford Council, who have led on this at Greater Manchester level for their unstinting support. I would also like to thank the Transport Minister for listening to and engaging with us. Greater Manchester has also negotiated additional financial support from the Government for the grants and incentives needed to help people update their vehicles – more excellent work.
Finally, we can look forward to a time when Longdendale’s air is as clean as local children deserve.
It’s a pity that Tamesides fleet of bin wagons don’t have an off button they regularly park in residential streets for there lunch break with engine’s running continuously pumping diesel fumes into homes.
This practice needs to stop.
But it’s not just HGVs it affects… Well done, you have just added your name to a list of many who covertly brought in a congestion charge and affected the income and livelihoods of many of your constituents.
I know where my votes will NOT be going next time around
Absolutely appalling, these people Jonathan Reynolds, Andy Burnham, Brenda Warrington, Andrew Western and many more (all on big wages) have absolutely no idea of the effect this will have on the common working man.
I own a small business Response Autos I would say 60 percent of our work is repairing Vans Pre euro 6 emissions for hard working men, plumbers, plasterers, joiners, electricians, gardeners, general handy man types the list goes on.
Many of these hard working lads just can’t afford between 22 and 32 thousand pounds for a new euro 6 Van.
It’s also far far too risky for these working men to chance buying second hand euro 6 vans as most of these have mileages of 80k upwards and basically at that mileage are very unreliable due to the euro 6 emissions technology mainly being their fuel and exhaust systems needing extensive work and often full replacement costing often 6-10 k. Yes you read that right a modern exhaust system with DOC,SCR,DPF and it’s many sensors costs 6k upwards.
Now with added terribly unreliable Add Blue systems with vehicles threatening NO START in so many miles yet again due to unreliable technology.
And to top it all off your now threatening us with the introduction of B10 diesel fuel that will compromise the modern high pressure fuel systems vastly reducing their life expectancy and yet again costing thousands to repair.
Many of these hard working men really do need to keep these older far more reliable euro 4 and euro 5 vans going, their main priority is putting food on the table NOT investing 30k in unreliability.
I certainly hope that is one huge pot of grant money you have for these poor guys.
I along with many other garages stand to lose a large percentage of my income once these older Vans and minibuses are banned from the roads of greater Manchester.
Now as an example let’s take my own personal position I have a 2008 euro 4 Renault Crew cab van with 6 seats. I don’t need this van for my work.
I have this van because I coach and manage youth football teams for stalybridge Celtic juniors it’s a volunteer roll.
I need the space that a van has to allow for all the football equipment for drills and the extra seating so I can transport the kids that parents don’t drive to and from games.
But by 2023 I would have to spend thousands of pounds on a euro 6 Van for a volunteer roll coaching youth football.
The clean air zone for the area of the whole of greater Manchester is a plan thought out by idiots.
As Labour Party members you should represent the interests and needs of the urban working class.
Instead you
Jonathan Reynolds
Andy Burnham
Brenda Warrington
Andrew Western
And many more
should be charged with crimes of oppression against the common hard working man.
You never had my vote and you never will
David Jackson