The Conservatives’ new North East mayor candidate wants to get rid of Newcastle’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) tolls.
Guy Renner-Thompson, who was chosen by Tory members last weekend to stand in 2024’s historic regional election, has claimed that he would remove the city centre charges that were imposed on drivers of some high-polluting vehicles earlier this year.
He said: “You can have different policies in different parts of the country. What might work in one city isn’t right for Newcastle or the North East. The main people it is hurting are small businesses, people with vans and pick-up trucks, people with commercial vehicles that don’t conform to the rules.
I'm in the building trade. For many tradespeople, the work van is their only transport. The CAZ toll includes pickup trucks which are a staple on our roads across rural North East. The decision on which vehicles and how much to charge per day to enter the city centre was totally within the control of the Labour Party. Its anti business and anti common sense.”
