THE introduction of the Clean Air Zone is on hold after the Government and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) agreed to shift back the deadline to meet legal limits on air pollution.

The first phase of the scheme was set to start in May 2022, with the aim of meeting legal limits on nitrogen dioxide by 2024, but a statement on Friday, February 4 revealed this deadline is now in 2026.

In the statement, Andy Burnham, Clean Air Lead Andrew Western and Jo Churchill MP from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said the discussions between the Government and the GMCA were "robust".

The discussions are now set to continue, with a revised plan to meet the revised deadline needed by July 2022.

The statement said: "Air quality is one of our biggest health challenges and we are all committed to tackling it.

"We have agreed to a short, time-limited pause. We will work together to deliver, by the middle of the year, a plan for clean air for Greater Manchester, one that is fair to the businesses and residents of the city-region.

"We will deliver improved air quality as soon as possible, not losing ambition but ensuring we take into account the pandemic, global supply chain challenges, improvements already baked into retrofits and the scope as previously laid out.

"We will now work jointly to meet the Government and Greater Manchester requirements on clean air, as soon as possible, and no later than 2026."

In a statement earlier this week, Mr Burnham indicated there was a chance the Clean Air Zone would not need to charge the drivers of non-compliant vehicles at all if the deadline was delayed.

But the Mayor of Greater Manchester asked for an extra year on top of the now revised deadline of 2026, so the need to charge the drivers of certain non-compliant vehicles cannot be ruled out.

Previously, the drivers of vehicles like taxis and vans staged protests against the Clean Air Zone, including go-slow protests on the M60 and in the city centre.