Low Emission Zone consultation in Scotland receives positive feedback

Responses to Scotland’s Low Emission Zone consultation show that 95.5 per cent of respondents are in favour of the regulation.

Out of 967 respondents, 62.3 per cent agreed with the proposed minimum mandatory Euro emission criteria for Scottish LEZs.

The proposed minimum criteria as set out in the consultation document is Euro 6 for diesel cars, Euro 4 for petrol cars and Euro VI for buses (including older retrofitted engines which would be improved to operate as Euro VI).

In addition, 95.5 per cent supported the principle of LEZs to help improve air quality for Scotland.

The views provided showed that the most popular suggestion was for LEZs to operate 24 hours, 7 days a week.

The views provided also showed a high level of consensus with 91.6 per cent in favour of using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) to enforce LEZs.

Those who disagreed had privacy concerns with the use of ANPR.

Just over 82 per cent of respondents considered that emergency vehicles should be exempt.

The majority of respondents, 86.3 per cent agreed that LEZ exemptions should be consistent across all Scottish local authorities.

Humza Yousaf, minister for transport, said:“This is another important step in delivering our vision for Scotland’s air quality to be the best in Europe.

“This consultation has given the public, businesses and transport operators the platform to share their views on important issues relating to the scope and lead-in times for LEZs.

“These zones will improve air quality, tackle congestion and help improve our urban environments, however, it is critical that this is done in a consistent manner and in partnership with local authorities, industry and regional transport partnerships. To that end, I am delighted that this important consultation received close to one thousand responses from a variety of sectors, with 95.5 per cent of respondents supporting the principle of LEZs to help improve air quality in Scotland.”