Norwich city centre ‘zero emission’ plan has its’ funding cut
Norwich council wanted to ban all but EV’s on several roads in the city centre, from which most vehicles are already barred
The article in the Eastern Daily Press reads:
A plan for a zero-emission zone in Norwich, restricting all but the most eco-friendly vehicles from a string of city centre roads, looks to have been dashed
Norfolk County Council had been given £500,000 by the Department for Transport to put together a feasibility study to explore the benefits and impacts of a zone.
But the government has announced the Conservative-run council – one of only three authorities to get initial feasibility study cash – will not receive further money through its Zero Emission Transport Cities (ZETC) scheme, citing “funding pressures”.
The idea of the zone – along with the planned introduction of electric buses – was to help eliminate exhaust emissions and encourage a switch to electric vehicles.
The streets it would have covered were those such as St Stephens Street, Red Lion Street, Castle Meadow and Exchange Street, where general traffic is already banned.
So a complete waste of time and money then.
A council spokesman said:
“The Department for Transport has now advised the council the Zero Emission Transport Cities programme will not be proceeding past the feasibility stage, due to funding pressures, and therefore there will be no opportunity to bid for additional ZETC funding.
However, we continue to liaise closely with central government to look at other potential funding sources and has a strong track record in attracting funding for sustainable transport projects.”
Jamie Osborn, Green county and city councillor, whose Mancroft ward includes the city centre, said:
“It is very disappointing the government has failed on its promise to clean up air quality in cities like Norwich.
We need urgent action to prevent more lives being lost simply from breathing in dirty air.
Even without this funding, the council should be introducing ways to cut air pollution in the city.”
More lives lost from breathing dirty air? How many have died already? We are not told, and the Eastern Daily Press apparently didn’t ask.
Where is the money coming from to fund these ‘ways to cut air pollution’? Perhaps councillor Osborn thinks it grows on trees.
The authority, which recently unveiled its climate strategy, said it is committed to cutting emissions and has successfully obtained funding for schemes such as electric vehicle charging points and e-cargo bikes.
I can really see the plumbers of Norwich getting long lengths of copper pipe on an e-cargo bike. Not.
What about delivery and maintenance vehicles, which are still permitted on those streets? If the companies concerned cannot afford to ditch their existing fleets and buy expensive electric vans, what happens then?
This is nothing more than the latest virtue-signalling codswallop.
See the EDP article here edp24.co.uk
Bold emphasis added
Header image: Exchange Street, Norwich. Denise Bradley
About the author: Andy Rowlands is a university graduate in space science and British Principia Scientific International researcher, writer and editor who co-edited the new climate science book, ‘The Sky Dragon Slayers: Victory Lap‘
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Half a million wasted, ‘to see how the land lies’. Pity they weren’t penalised for these flights of fancy from their own pockets, all this would stop.
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