Dundee business ‘have nothing to fear’ from Low Emission Zones

Businesses in Dundee “don’t have anything to fear” from the introduction of the city’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) next week, according to Scotland’s transport secretary.

The scheme aims to cut emissions and pollution in the city centre by stopping some vehicles from entering.

Dundee’s LEZ comes into force on 30 May, the day before those in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and a year after Glasgow’s zone.

One local business said the move was “using a sledgehammer to crack the nut of the problem.”

Martin Goodfellow is sales and marketing director for Goodfellow and Steven, which has 12 shops in the east of Scotland.

He said: “I’m not against the principle of reducing emissions and improving air quality, but I don’t believe this policy is going to do that.

“It was one of the factors which made us decide to close our shop in Union Street in Dundee.

“Dundee City Council have used a sledgehammer to crack the nut of the problem.”

He said some motorists, who cannot afford to buy compliant vehicles, will be “literally driven out of town”.

He said: “Dundee is not a wealthy town and a lot of people do not have the ability to buy new cars to comply with the LEZ.

“Combine that with an inadequate public transport system and draconian parking charges and they’ll just choose to shop elsewhere.”

The zone is an area only accessible to vehicles that meet minimum emission standards.

Vehicles that breach the emission standards will be issued a fine for entering the zone.

Some exemptions included blue badge holders, motorbikes, mopeds and emergency vehicles.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Businesses don’t have anything to fear.

“Low emission zones take place across Europe, there are 320 cities that have them, and Dundee, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh are joining them.

“It’s really important to improve air quality for health, but it’s also important to improve quality of life and wellbeing in our city centres and encourage more people to walk around, to shop, to go to restaurants, and also those who are working here.”

She added it was important to learn from the experience of Glasgow, which introduced its LEZ last year.

She said: “All the low emission zone leaders in the councils in Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh have regular discussions and indeed will be meeting them again this week.”

The Dundee Low Emission Zone includes an area within the A991 Inner Ring Road, excluding three car parks – Bell Street, West Marketgait and Wellgate Shopping Centre.

It encompasses landmarks like the McManus Galleries, Abertay University and the Overgate Centre.

The ring road itself is not within the LEZ, this means the Tay Road Bridge is fully accessible to all vehicles.

Low emission zone restrictions only affect the most polluting vehicles.

This typically means the zone will have an impact on diesel vehicles registered before September 2015 and petrol vehicles registered before 2006.

Dundee City Council’s economic growth convener Cllr Steven Rome said reaction to the LEZ had “clearly been mixed.”

He said: “There has been a lot of positive reaction from people who have been aware of the health benefits, like people who suffer from asthma.

“There have obviously been concerns raised as well by the potential impact on businesses.”

He said that the “vast majority” of vehicles were LEZ compliant, and anyone with concerns about their own vehicles should check the council’s website.

He added: “Dundee is a very compact city centre and the Low Emission Zone is as compact as we can make it, while still being effective.”