Letter: Make it make sense!

Why is it so hard to access financial support to upgrade vehicles to ‘less polluting’ models?

We are a small, family-run haulage business that has been operating in and around Sheffield for over 60 years, now incorporating a fourth generation.

We have applied for a grant to upgrade two of our HGVs but have been told we’re not eligible as we are based ‘more than 5km away from the CAZ boundary’, despite being registered as a business in Sheffield, with a Sheffield postcode, and driving into the CAZ to undertake our daily work.

Despite having contacted the council multiple times to discuss other options, we haven’t had a reply.

We have also contacted our local MP to arrange a face-to-face meeting, first email sent December 12, 2022, and have been told one of Miriam Cates’ caseworkers on February 2 that she is ‘still awaiting a reply to her inquiry with Sheffield City Council's CAZ department’; we have still not seen her for a meeting and time is running out.

As the start date of Monday, February 27 draws closer, we now have no option but to pay the £50 daily charge to enter the zone or instead lose out on work, time, and money by taking detours to avoid the zone altogether – using more fuel and creating more emissions in the process.

With the inner ring-road included in the zone, this makes it near impossible for people to avoid the charges, with many having to drive through the zone whether they were wanting to bypass it or not!

Manchester have delayed their CAZ plans in order to reach a fairer plan whereas, Liverpool and Leeds are developing an alternative to help improve air quality that doesn’t involving a chargeable zone. Sheffield needs to follow suit.

We have managed to survive lockdown and the rise in fuel prices, but now with a downturn in business, how are we expected to replace our vehicles in a cost of living crisis without any support?

How is paying £50 a day to drive a ‘polluting’ vehicle through the city centre going improve air quality?

The council are basically saying ‘it’s okay to pollute if you can afford to’, with charges falling on those who are just trying to make a living.

These people are just going to be worse off and the air quality is not going to improve as a result. Make it make sense!

Jeremy Maw

High Green, S35